Valkyria Chronicles: Iron Cross Alliance
by Patriot-112
Summary: A Re-do of my Iron Cross Corps fic, with help from 117Jorn. A Wehrmacht General, and a Kriegsmarine Admiral attempt to defect to the Allies during WW2 in 1944, only to run into a unnatural storm that sends them to an new world. Now, as they help Gallia drive back the Imperial Assault, a new alliance rises on Europa. Rated T for now.
1. Prologue

**AN: We don't own Valkyria Chronicles, and we SURE as hell don't own the German Army. Or the Navy. Or the Luftwaffe. Happy? Good. Now, let's begin!**

* * *

 **April 9th 1944**

 **Somewhere in the North Sea**

* * *

The sun was over the horizon of the north sea, though it was admittedly barely visible under the massive amount of clouds in the air. The grey clouds definitely spoke that a storm was coming, as the waves rose up and crashed back down. Though the worst had yet to come, thankfully. Not that such a storm would be a threat to the small fleet of ships slowly trugging forward through the ocean.

The fleet consisted of a handful of ships - no more than 14 which could be seen. Four of the vessels appeared to be Destroyer-type vessels, while several more appeared to be larger transport ships, one of which appeared to be a converted ocean liner from its appearance. Another two vessels looked like Cruiser-type ships, one heavy and one light. However, it was obvious what really drew one's attention to the fleet.

In the center were two vessels in particular. The first vessel was very obviously an aircraft carrier, its landing deck currently clear of any of its aircraft, to avoid them being damaged by the coming storm. While moving close next to it though, was a much larger vessel - with massive guns, and bristling with weapons, making it quite obvious that it was a battleship.

However, what all of these vessels had in common, was that each of them were flying red and black flags, complete with black crosses. Each of these vessels were from the German Kriegsmarine, and the two leading vessels were among the most advance and largest vessels the German war machine possessed. Inscribed along the hulls of the two vessels in German were their names.

 _Tirpitz_ , and _Graf Zeppelin_.

On the command bridge of the _Graf Zeppelin_ , the crew went about their daily duties as they manned the vessel through the storm. Also standing on the bridge was a man with short crew-cut blond hair and brown eyes, wearing the standard attire of the German Navy, with the addition of the familiar rank pins of an Admiral adorn on his uniform. THe man looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked out the bridge window.

"Its bad… but I dare not say more..." he said in German with a small smirk, "I believe the Americans have a saying… anything that can happen, will happen? Murphy's Law I believe."

Some of the crew chuckled a bit, as Admiral Joseph Hoffman glanced out the window once more, observing the fleet. It required him to pull a lot of strings over the years to make this possible, but in the end it was worth it as he believed they were leaving at just the right time. Hitler's '1,000 year reign' wouldn't make it past the end of the decade at the rate Germany is going. The allied invasion was inevitable, and despite what men like Rommel and Hoffman could accomplish… perhaps it was best to allow it to happen.

When Hoffman became an Admiral in the Kriegsmarine, he was one of the Admirals who aided in the construction of the _Graf Zeppelin_ \- Germany's one and only Aircraft Carrier. They could of had a second Carrier… but of course Hitler refused to see the use of such vessels in battle, despite how effective the allies made these warships across the world from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The _Graf_ was nearly forgotten entirely, but Hoffman ensured that the Aircraft Carrier was completed earlier that year, with a full complement of navalized aircraft, and a full crew at his disposal.

As far as the rest of the Reich was concerned, Admiral Hoffman was about to begin Operation: TIGERSHARK, an attempt to delay the Allied Invasion long enough for Germany to properly prepare their own defenses to repel the invaders. By cooperating with the Battleship _Tirpitz_ , they were to launch a small invasion of their own against the British Isles where and when they least expected it. Their troop ships were filled with three full Panzer Regiments, two mechanized infantry regiments, a grenadier regiment, a mounted cavalry regiment, and finally two artillery battalions. Equipped with enough ammunition, food, supplies, and fuel to keep the force functioning for months. The German High Command hoped that, in the best case scenario, they can establish a permanent beachhead at England, and hold the line long enough for reinforcements.

Unfortunately… Admiral Hoffman had no intentions of invading England.

While he had a large force of soldiers, and a well rounded fleet including the _Graf Zeppelin_ , _Tirpitz_ , the _Admiral Hipper_ , the _Köln_ , four _Narvik_ -class Destroyers, and multiple troop ships, and even a single Type XXI U-Boat, he was not intending to invade the allies, and further this war. Instead, he had gathered the families of the men he, and his friend in the German Army - one General Wagner von Wolfe - commanded, were leaving Germany while they still could… and were to defect to the allies.

It was an extremely risky move, as the movement of so many civilians would no doubt not go unnoticed for long… but it was all too late now to go back. The families who came now were among their fleet, all of them awaiting to arrive in allied-controlled territory where they could be safe from both Allied and Axis bomb raids. Granted it made movement in the already filled vessels cramped, but it was only temporary.

The Admiral knew that it was very likely that the Allies would ask for him to fight his own homeland, against the German army and navy in their upcoming invasion. He would attempt to decline, but he knew that it was likely they would force his hand… as much as he hated himself for it, it was for the best - Hitler and the Nazi's needed to be stopped, no matter what the cost.

"Once we reach British Waters, cease radio silence." Hoffman said, "Broadcast on all known channels that the British and Americans use, and inform them of our desire to surrender."

"Aye Sir!" The crewmen all shouted in compliance.

The Admiral then sighed as he looked back out the window of the bridge, as he saw the storm getting a little more worse by the second.

"This storm is getting more crazy than expected Joseph," said a voice, and the Admiral turned and spotted his said friend, dressed in his Field Marshall uniform, with his great coat draped on his shoulders, his visor hat covering his graying light brown hair, "The waves are moving the ship around so much my son is complaining of sea sickness,"

"Bah, this is nothing." Hoffman said shaking his head, "I've been through worse on my grandfather's fishing boat when I was a child. When water spouts being appearing, then your son has the right to complain about sea sickness."

Wagner sighed shaking his head "This is why I joined the Army… not the Navy." he said, causing Hoffman to let out a barking laugh.

"I suppose the navy life is not for everyone," The Admiral said shaking his head, "Not everyone has sea legs after all..."

Wagner nodded at that, "True..." he said, before taking his cap off, and glared at the German Eagle clasping the wreathed Swastika in it's talons. He then carefully removed the badge from his cap, and then took out a pair of wire cutters, and proceeded to cut the cursed symbol off from the eagle.

Joseph turned and looked at Wagner and blinked at the General's actions, before smiling a bit.

"Freeing the eagle from the Swastika, eh?" he asked.

"Now that I have the time to do it..." Wagner said, as he tossed the swastika into a corner, before placing the badge back onto his cap as he placed it on his head. "We no longer answer to them anymore. The next time we fight… we are fighting to free our nation from a Tyrant…"

Hoffman nodded, before a sudden flash of lightning caused several of the crewmen to jump in surprise. "Now the storm begins..."

Wagner looked out the window, letting out a low whistle "I may not be navy… but I've never seen skies like that." He said. Hoffman rose an eyebrow as he took a glance outside, and he blinked in confusion. The Clouds were… different, somehow. They almost had a dark brown hue to them now as they moved over them. Lightning criss-crossing through the skies in a small spectacle.

"This is… different." He said, before shaking his head "But there is no need… to..." before he could finish that sentence, a sliver of green light seemed to emerge from out of the clouds, surrounding their fleet in flurry of shifting lights. "What?"

"An Aurora..." Wagner muttered, as he looked out as well. "We shouldn't be able to see these here of all places..." He glanced at his watch, and blinked as he saw the watch hands were going haywire, spinning out uncontrollably. "The hell?"

Hoffman's eyes narrowed as he looked at the compass of the ship, which was also beginning to spin out of control. "Something is not right here..." he muttered.

Then just as suddenly the Aurora appeared, the lights as well as the storm disappeared.

Everyone was looking around in confusion, as Wolfe and Hoffman both blinked at the rather quick end of the storm.

"That... was not a normal storm," the General said, while Hoffman nodded in agreement, and turned to the radioman.

"Break radio silence! Try to get in contact with the Allies!" he ordered, "Signal the rest of the fleet to check for damage and injuries!"

"Aye sir." The Radioman said, "Fleet is reporting in, no casualties… well, outside of some usual sea sickness. Patching into allied communications..." However as he did so, he blinked as he tapped his earpieces. "Wait… that can't be right..."

"What is it?" Hoffman asked.

"Sir… I've just tunned into a radio frequency I know the Allies use..." the Radio operator said, "But… I'm getting nothing. Nothing even encrypted... "

"Try one of the other frequencies," Hoffman said, "We shout out loud enough and everywhere, the allies are sure to send someone to investigate."

"Sir, I'm checking all channels - I've still got nothing." The Radioman said, "Not just military channels… but I can't pick anything up on the civilian ones either. We should be hearing Radio Stations from London at this range and frequency, but… Sir, I can't even pick up anything from the Homeland!"

Hoffman and Wagner looked at the Radioman with shocked expressions, before Hoffman turned to another crewmen.

"Get a pair of scout planes fueled and ready immediately!" he ordered and the crewmen nodded and went to relay the order. "Signal the fleet, all ships are to stop, and await further instructions!"

The Radioman nodded as the orders were sent as the fleet steadily came to a stop. "Something is not right here..." Hoffman muttered, "If the storm damaged the Radio, we wouldn't even be able to communicate with our own ships..."

"I don't know, my friend..." Wagner said, shaking his head. "But I suddenly have a bad feeling about this… "

* * *

The Kriegsmarine fleet had finally come to a stop, as the _Tirpitz_ launched a pair of its Arado Ar 196 Floatplanes to scout out the area. One heading in the direction England should be, while another surveyed their surroundings, keeping an eye out for any approaching vessels or aircraft. However, already things were getting odd, as the floatplane claimed he was flying right over where england was… only there was no england. Just open ocean.

"This doesn't make any sense..." Hoffman muttered looking at the map, "We should be able to see the Dover Cliffs from here… hell, if they couldn't pick up our transmissions, we should be getting swarmed by allied bombers by now… even if the storm knocked us off course, it shouldn't have been by that much..."

Wagner's eyes narrowed as he thought about that storm. He saw some storms, despite not being a sailor, and he could tell that particular storm was not anything natural.

"We should have our scout planes searching beyond our radar coverage," he said, "Have them stay up as long and then they can and return as soon as they begin to run low on fuel. Have them work in shifts."

"That's the plan." Hoffman said nodding, "Scout 2 is moving towards the east, where the Netherlands should be. He'll go out as far as he can until he needs to return. Once Scout 1 returns and refuels, he will head south towards France."

Wagner nodded as he looked a the map "What do you think is going on here?" He asked, as Hoffman sighed, shrugging.

"I have no idea... " he said, "This surpasses anything that should be possible… its almost as if we're in the middle of nowhere."

"Sir, receiving a coded message from Scout 2!" said the Radio man suddenly as he began to write down the message being sent to him by morse code, Hoffman and Wagner approached the sailor as he finished writing the incoming message from the scout and handed it to the Admiral.

Hoffman looked through the message and then blinked, "What the hell?"

"What is it?" Wagner asked.

"Scout 2's report says he's encountered two fleets of ships," Hoffman said, "And they are engaged in battle."

Wagner's eyes narrowed "Who's fighting?" He asked, "Americans? British? Free French? Canadians?"

"That… is what is odd." Hoffman said, "He's claiming that he's never seen any of the ships before… not from the Allies, or the Axis. And one of the fleets has a rather… sizable Battleship."

Wagner blinked at that, "How _big_ are we talking?" he said.

Before Hoffman could reply, the radioman spoke again. "Sir, another message," he said, as he listened to the incoming message, as he jotted down was being sent until he suddenly stopped writing, his eyes widening before he quickly finished the message, and handed it to Hoffman.

Hoffman looked at the message, before his eyes widened "That's _impossible_!" He said, "Nearly half a kilometer?! Not even the _Yamato_ the Japanese use is that big!"

"Sir, it's what he reported!" the Radioman said, "But from the sounds of it, whoever's using that dreadnought is winning - and the other fleet is getting their arses handed to them."

Hoffman's eyes narrowed "This doesn't make sense… " he muttered.

"What should we do?" Wagner asked. Hoffman was silent for a solid minute, with nothing but the sound of the ocean waves being heard crashing against the carrier. Finally though, Hoffman spoke.

"Send word to Captain Weber, I want the _Tirpitz_ heading out to that battlezone ASAP!" He ordered, "Inform our Air wings to prepare for an emergency deployment!"

The radio man nodded and as he activated the intercom and sent the order to the order of the Graf Zeppelin's pilots. Wagner looked at Hoffman with a wary stare.

"What's going on in your head, Joseph?" he said, while the Admiral sighed.

"Wagner, we have no idea what is going on here, and I fully intend to get some answers." Hoffman said shaking his head. "Entire islands are missing, and now we've got two fleets duking it out with ships we've apparently never seen before, with one being half a kilometer long. If we're going to get those answers… our best bet will be from those fleets. We help them defeat that monster… they'll be in our debt, and we can get our answers then."

"It can be _very_ dangerous idea..." Wagner warned, "We have no idea what's going on... "

"Normally I would be against it as well," Hoffman said, "But we are in a very odd situation here… I'd rather support the underdogs than whoever owns that supposed monster of a ship."

Wagner thought about the situation and couldn't argue the fact that Hoffman was right. He sighed as he nodded his head.

"Right, I'll go with you on this," he said, "And exactly how do you plan on dealing with that monster?"

Hoffman thought for a moment before smirking. "The same way the British Royal Navy dealt with the _Bismarck_ ," he said. "With Air Superiority."

* * *

 **Several Minutes Later**

 **Gallian _Tempest_ -class Cruiser 'PGS _Vasel'_**

* * *

"The _Majestic_ has been hit! She's already listing!"

"Fires are spewing off the _Cromwell_ , her ammo could cook off at any minute!"

"We've lost the _Marvelous_! Survivors are in the water!"

The Gallian 2nd Fleet was nearly in shambles under the assault from the Imperials. The fleet of Cruisers was tasked at halting the advance of the Imperial 9th Fleet from launching a naval attack along Gallia's coastal cities, likely to prepare for an amphibious assault. The 2nd Fleet was all that stood between them and Gallia at this point. Perhaps if it was a more normal engagement the Gallian Navy might of pulled out a victory… but the biggest problem was that monster of a Dreadnought leading the fleet.

The Gallian Fleet consisted of roughly ten ships - all _Tempest_ -class Cruisers, vessels dating back to the First Europan War, designed to guard the coastlines of Gallia from intruders. Each vessel possessed a modest armament, two 12-inch guns - one on the bow and one on the stern - a pair of 8-inch guns situated on a turret near the front, and four 5-inch guns, two situated along the starboard, while another two along the port.

The Imperial Fleet consisted of the usual battleline - an _Imperium_ -class Battleship, a pair of _Avenger_ -class Heavy Cruisers, four _Intrepid_ -class Light Cruisers, and multiple _Oaken_ -class Destroyers. The odds already looked bad for them… but in the center of the fleet was a colossal warship, nearly half a kilometer long, bristling with Imperial guns, from the eight dual 15-inch Gun Turrets, to the bristling amount of smaller 10-inch guns.

On the bridge of the flagship of the 2nd Fleet - the _Vasel_ , Admiral Catharine D. Malaya was beginning to feel very helpless. The brunette-haired woman brushed some of her neck-length hair from out of her face, as her blue eyes focused on the monster. She had heard the intelligence reports that the Imperials built some kind of 'Super Ship', named the _Kaiser_ , but she didn't think it was possible… they could fire their guns at the Gallians long before they themselves could get within striking distance. While they were able to sink some of their Destroyers already and damaged a Light Cruiser… now their fleet of ten ships has been reduced to less than five still functioning.

 _'This can't be it..._ ' Catharine thought. _'We can't fall like this… if we fail, then..._ '

"Ma'am! Heavy Cruiser coming in!" One of the officers shouted, and sure enough one of the Imperial Heavy Cruisers were moving in to make the finishing blow on the _Cromwell_.

"Open fire! Stop them!" Catharine shouted, "I don't care if their out of our range, distract them! Draw them off them!"

The _Vasel's_ main guns turned to attack the enemy heavy cruiser, firing its main guns. However, they barely miss the Heavy Cruiser, but one of its dual 14-inch guns turned around, and return fire, and suddenly the _Vasel_ rocked as a shell impacted against their forward turret, effectively knocking it out. "Damnit!" Catharine shouted, as she climbed back onto her feet. "Put those fires out!"

The Heavy Cruiser turned its gun turrets back towards the _Cromwell_ \- its guns prepared to fire at point blank range to finish off the Gallian Cruiser. Catharine gritted her teeth - there was nothing they could do for them…

However, just before the Heavies could fire, a pair of explosions impacted the stern hull of the Cruiser, knocking out both of its rear-facing turrets, before another pair of explosions erupted against the amidship, as two gaping holes spewing fire and smoke appeared - the sheer force of the explosions forcing the guns to miss their shots, as their rounds hit harmlessly into the ocean.

Catharine's eyes widened "Wha-who fired that?!" She shouted.

"Ma'am, it wasn't one of ours!" The Radioman said, "They're too busy with the destroyers!"

"Admiral! You gotta take a look at this!" The man standing outside with binoculars shouted. Catharine rushed outside, yanking the binoculars out of his grasp as he looked out where he was facing. It took her a few moments… before she saw it.

In the distance, seemingly coming from over the horizon was a single warship unlike anything Catharine had ever seen. Its two forward batteries smoking from the recent discharge. When she checked the ranges, and her eyes widened "That ships out 30,000 Meters..." she muttered, "They couldn't possibly of hit that cruiser at that range!"

The Imperials also noticed the new arrival of the ship, as a Light Cruiser and a pair of Destroyers were dispatched to intercept the unknown. The vessel began to turn starboard, as it revealed all four of its main batteries as they turned to face the Imperials. Catharine then watched as the vessel unleashed yet another barrage of fire, as the ship seemed to be pushed back into the ocean as it fired. A few seconds later, there were several plooms of water erupting from the ocean indicating three misses, but the remaining five shots did not miss - as the Light Cruiser took the bulk of the attack. The first shot hitting the command tower, two more impacting against the hull of the ship near its waterline, with another two hitting right in the middle of the enemy ship where the ammo to the main guns were. There was a geyser of shrapnel and fire erupting from the cruiser, before the ship seemed to rise up out of the water with a colossal explosion. Its guns being blown clean off, as the ship was ripped in half.

The Gallians could only look in shocked awe as they saw the Imperial ship be ripped open like a tin can. The two Imperial Destroyers only continued on their course, believing that it would take a while for the newcomer's large guns to reload, and proceeded to flank her on both sides, with one going to starboard, and the other to port.

Of course the unknown wasn't finished as she began to fire all of her secondary weapons at the escort ships. The shots - which Catharine assumed were 15cm guns - had mixed success, as several shots missed, but many more hit their mark as explosions rocked both destroyers, turning them into floating burning hulks, spewing out fire as the unknown battleship continued to trudge forward into the battlezone.

This act of sheer firepower finally drew the attention of the rest of the Imperial Fleet, as a Heavy Cruiser and a light cruiser changed course to intercept the incoming battleship. The Imperium-class Battleship also maneuvered to provide fire support.

"They sunk four ships… in less than ten minutes..." Catharine muttered.

"Yes ma'am… but against this kind of force, alone it can't-" the observer began to say, however suddenly there was an odd… buzzing sound, echoing throughout the air. "What the hell is that?"

 **BGM: Luftwaffe March**

Catharine blinked as she glanced around, looking for the source of the buzzing noise, as it seemed to be coming from above. She glanced up, and her eyes widened in shock "By the Valkyrur..." She muttered, as the observer followed her gaze, and his eyes widened just as large. In the skies, a small swarm of flying… machines flew overhead at incredible speed, letting out echoing roars as they soared through the skies like birds.

Then, she spotted the larger of the machines begin to roll over and began diving straight down at extreme speed like a hawk, while a loud horrifying scream like sound was heard.

She watched as something was released from the underbelly and wings of the machines as they banked up out of the dive. As it rose up from its dive, the object impacted into the center of the second Heavy Cruiser's front battery, resulting in a massive explosion which set off its ammo racks, as a second explosion erupted from the cruiser. It was not the last, as two more flying machines followed its example, diving down and releasing their ordinance into the hull of the vessel, resulting in massive damage.

"Who the hell are these guys?!" Catharine shouted, before one flying machine sped past her ship. It was a bit different from the others, colored with a dark green and black camo pattern, but bore a bright red circle on either wing, and along its center. Near the front of the craft was an image of what looked like a red and yellow dragon.

* * *

From the safety of his A6M Type Zero, the pilot smirked a bit as he saw the sheer destruction being inflicted upon the enemy fleet. He had removed his cap for a moment, revealing his dark red eyes, and his short spikey black hair as he scratched his head. "Well, this certainly is… odd." He admitted, before he turned the radio on. "Jaden Takeo here, Admiral. We've engaged the enemy forces. Oddly enough we're… not getting any form of Flak AA, and no signs of any escort fighters. Ju 87's are devastating their Cruisers, and the Fi 167's are about to make their torpedo run on that behemoth of a ship. The Tirpitz is devastating their Destroyers."

" _That is odd there is no air support...still, it's an advantage to us,"_ said Hoffman, " _Proceed with the mission, and obliterate that fleet, destroy that behemoth most of all, if not, cripple it so it won't get away_ ,"

Jaden could only smirk at that, "With pleasure sir," he said, and placed his flight cap back on. "Alright you newbies! As the Americans say, its a Turkey Shoot! All Fighters straif at their amidships and light e'm up! Torpedo Bombers, focus fire on that behemoth! She won't be leaving these seas in one piece!"

Jaden made a tight turn as he zoned into the first destroyer, before unleashing upon it with a hail of 20mm Cannon and 7.7mm machine gun fire along its unprotected middle half, scoring many hits and his 20mm's doing a surprising bit of damage before he pulled away. Jaden glanced at the Behemoth, which had opened fire on the wave of Fieseler Fi 167 Torpedo Bombers moving low along the waterline. However the big guns of the Behemoth were unable to hit a single bomber, for they were designed for anti-ship and artillery support, not anti-aircraft duties.

The Fi 167's dropped their payload of 765 kg Torpedoes, which sped towards the massive vessel. The unkown vessel was too large and slow to avoid the torpedoes, as they each slammed against its hull, as fire, shrapnel and water burst from the waterline of the vessel. One shot in particular was aimed perfectly to its rear half, hitting where the rudder should've been. The few Ju 87's that hadn't dropped their bombs yet were next, as they dropped their payloads upon the behemoth, two of whom hit right in the center of the vessel's bow, piercing deep within the hull. After a few seconds of pause, there was a massive explosion along the bow as the behemoth shuddered as its magazines went off, the sheer shock wave of the blast caused Jaden's Zero to shudder a bit as well.

"Ha, ha! Direct hit!" Jaden shouted as he circled the behemoth. "She ain't going nowhere, and she's already starting to list starboard!"

But the behemoth's bad day was not yet over, as the _Tirpitz_ had now moved in for more accurate shots - having dealt with the remaining destroyers with some help from the other unknown fleet. Now the only ships the enemy fleet had now were the behemoth, the battleship, and a light cruiser, all of whom were suffering heavy damage.

The _Tirpitz's_ 15-inch guns and 5.9-inch guns all came to bear on the enemy battleship, before unleashing an unholy barrage of armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds into the enemy ship, resulting in multiple explosions. Even the Flak Guns and AA turrets opened fire on the massive dreadnought, since there was no air threat to speak of. The enemy vessel tried to train its guns on the _Tirpitz_ , but its crew was obviously panicking between the fires, the flooding, and explosions to get an accurate shot on the battleship.

The final blow came roughly a minute later, as the Tirpitz's main guns fired one last volley into the center of the ship, and after one final explosion the behemoth was ripped in two, its bow lifting up into air slowly as it began to sink into the ocean.

"Enemy behemoth has been destroyed!" Jaden shouted out, as he watched the few remaining enemy vessels cut their losses and turned tail. "Enemy forces have begun to withdraw! We did it!"

All over the radio he heard the victorious shouts of his fellow pilots, as the last of the behemoth slipped into the ocean depths. He then watched as the _Tirpitz_ began to disembark it launches in order to rescue from the water. He nodded at that and turned to the other unknown fleet which was keeping a wary distance from the _Tirpitz_.

A thought hit him and he smirked as he banked his Zero, decelerating a bit as he opened the canopy. _'Always wanted to do this...'_ he thought.

* * *

The crew of the _Vasel_ were speechless, as they looked on in open shock and awe at what lied before them. An entire Imperial fleet, along with its behemoth of a dreadnought… slaughtered, cruisers sinking, destroyers burning, and the gargantuan warship itself nothing more than a burning, sinking hulk. The few survivors of the onslaught were running with their tails between their legs as the strange flying machines continued to harass them with their weapons.

"Did… did we just… just win?" One of the ensigns asked.

Catharine shook her head "No… we didn't win… they did..." she said, as the unknown battleship maneuvered in a way to avoid hitting any of the wrecked ships.

"And just who are they actually?" The Radioman asked.

At that moment, the flying machine from earlier made its approach on them, moving low and slow. Catharine was about to order the crew to defend against it, however she then saw the glass top had been opened slightly, as a _person_ was inside the flying machine, as he flew by she and the crew all saw the figure waving at them, and from how close and slow he was moving… Catharine could see he was smiling.

The machine flew past the ship and then accelerated back up into the air, while graciously doing a complete roll over. The Admiral was shocked by this, however, unknown to her, a small smirk formed on her lips.

"Admiral the Unknown is coming toward us!" One of the bridge crew, another with binoculars, shouted and Catharine saw that the man's words were true, as the battleship was turning towards them. Its guns however were pointed forward, not towards the Vasel. "Wait... I see a signal light"

Sure enough, Catharine could see several flashes of light coming from the ship. "Their saying… 'Unknown. Vessel. We. Are. Not. Enemies." The ensign said, "Requesting. Permission. To. Board. Your. Vessel."

Catharine blinked in surprise at the request… though truth be told, they were not really in a position to deny such a request. Most of their ships were damaged or sinking, and that one ship could probably gut them all just as easily as they did the Imperials. Even though the flying machines were beginning to leave the skies. However Catharine also knew this was their one chance to get some actual answers here, and figure out exactly who it was they owed their lives too.

"Send a message back that we accept," Catharine said, "They may maneuver around our starboard, and we'll dock together." She then turned to the radioman. "Send a radio transmission to Headquarters, tell them the Imperials have been sent back… and also inform them we've made contact by an unknown vessel, and to standby for our next transmission."

The radioman nodded and began to send the transmission. As Catharine looked back at the Battleship, her eyes as sharp as a predator's.

* * *

 **A While Later**

* * *

The two ships docked were currently docked with each other as the crews threw lines to each to get them secured. With the ship close enough, the crew of the Vasel could finally see the faces of their rescuers.

The Gallian crew saw the flags of the battleship, and the flag most seen was a bright red flag, with a black and white cross-like foreground, and in the center of the cross surrounded by a white circle background was a black X-like shape, with 'arms' in an almost counter-clockwise pattern. And in the far upper right hand corner of the flag was a smaller cross, one which has its 'arms' grow shorter the closer it came to the center.

As for the crewmen themselves, most of them wore what looked like dark blue and white uniforms, as they moved quickly along the hull of the ship as they prepared a proper boarding ramp to connect the two ships. There were also several men who in addition to the uniform, instead of having white caps, wore dark green metal helmets, and were armed with rifles in their hands, but not at the ready.

As the ships came closer and as the boarding ramp was extended, another figure came out from the ship, this one wearing a different uniform, being near completely black including a black trench coat, and a black cap. The man stood at the end of the ramp, waiting for it to safely connect to the Gallian ship. The moment it was secured, the man stepped down the ramp along with several armed guards.

Crewmembers on both ships kept the ship steady as the visitors reached the other side quickly and were safely onboard. The black uniformed, which Catharine figured out was the commanding officer, turned towards her, and although blinking in what she saw as surprise, the man.

"Good day to you," he said, his voice having a thick accent, "I assume you are the commander of this fleet?"

Catharine nodded "Y-yes," she said, "I am Rear Admiral Catharine Malaya, Gallian 2nd Fleet. Welcome aboard the Vasel."

The Captain rose an eyebrow, but nodded "Captain Robert Weber, of the Kriegsmarine Battleship _Tirpitz_." He spoke, with a salute. "If you have any wounded, I can lend you some of our medical personnel to help treat them."

Catharine and the other sailors all blinked at that, but the former nodded in consent, willing to accept any aid, considering the major beating her force had taken.

"Of course," she said, and Robert nodded and turned to one of the armed guards to relay the information back to the ship, speaking in a language Catharine had never heard before. The guard nodded and proceeded with haste back onto the _Tirpitz_.

"I can see by the look on your face, that you have questions of who we are, and where we came from. Me and my compatriots are thinking the same thing," he said, and Catharine blinked at the word compatriots.

"E-excuse me?" Catharine asked, as Robert sighed.

"Tell me, Admiral… do you know where the nearest American, or British fleet is?" Robert asked.

"Umm, British? American?" Catharine asked in confusion, "I'm… sorry, I've never heard of them. Are they part of the Atlantic Federation?"

Robert looked very confused at that "Atlantic Federation?" He asked, "What is that? And how could you not of heard of Britain or America?"

Catharine was getting more confused by what the man was saying by the second.

"You must be confused with the Amerian continent. None of us heard of countries called America, nor Britain for that matter." she said, and she saw the man's face turn pale extra shades of white.

She saw him reach into his trench coat pocket and pull out a note and began writing it before ripping the paper off and handing it to another guard.

"Take this to the radio room, and have Mueller to tell the Admiral he needs to get the rest of the fleet here, and FAST." he said, and the Guard nodded before taking off.

"The… rest of your fleet?" Catharine asked.

"Just a task group we were part of, no need to worry." The Captain said, "Admiral Hoffman will likely wish to speak to you as well… if my… theory is correct… we may be in a bit of a situation."

"And that theory being…?"

"That we're not from your world."

* * *

 **Less than a hour later**

* * *

It didn't take long for the rest of the ships to arrive, as the _Graf Zeppelin_ came into view of the Tirpitz and the Gallian ships. The Gallians were awestruck by the appearance of the carrier, and were more surprised when they saw the same flying machines that helped them on the large flat deck. They took notice of the other ships as well, but the _Graf Zeppelin_ was the biggest center of attention.

"I've never seen a ship like that before..." Catharine muttered as the _Graf Zeppelin_ passed by. "Nor have I ever seen vehicles that… well, fly!"

Captain Weber rose an eyebrow at that "You mean you haven't created aircraft yet?" he asked.

Catharine shook her head "No… while I've heard stories of some individuals making their own private flying machines in Ameria and other parts of the world… I've never seen an… an aircraft as you call them… let alone one that is capable of acting as such a superior fighting machine."

She then sighed "Well, I suppose we should prepare to dock with it," Catherine said, however Weber chuckled.

"That won't be necessary." He said, causing her to blink before he pointed back at the Carrier. She looked, and saw another… odd looking craft moving onto the 'flight deck' of the _Graf Zeppelin_. It had two fans, however unlike other aircraft that had them facing forward, its two were facing upwards. The blades began to spin faster and faster, until, much to the Gallian's surprise, it began to fly up vertically into the sky!

Catharine was stunned as the aircraft made it's way to their ship, circling a few times before it began to lower and land on the stern of her ship. The guards that came with Weber moved toward the craft as it's engines began to shut down. The door soon opened and a person jumped out with a staircase as he positioned it right below the door.

The next to step down from the staircase were two men. The first had a black trench coat uniform similar to what Captain Weber possessed, though the different rank pins indicated he was of a higher rank. The second figure had a much different uniform, with strange black pants that 'extended' near the thighs, and a grey uniform with multiple badges, medals and ribbons upon it. And included with all of that, he had a brown leather trenchcoat, and a grey cap.

The two men approached the Captains, as Weber saluted them. "Admiral, General sir." he said, as they returned the salute. "Ma'am, these are Admiral Joseph Hoffman of the Kriegsmarine, and Field Marshall Wagner von Wolfe of the Heer Wehrmacht. Sirs, I give you Rear Admiral Catharine Malaya, of the Gallian 2nd Fleet."

Hoffman and Wolfe both blinked at that, as they looked at Catharine, then back to Weber, who shrugged.

"I was as surprised as you are," he said, and then turned to Catharine, "Is there anyplace we can talk in private, Admiral?"

Catharine nodded before speaking, "Yes, the mess hall, follow me please," she said and led the three officers away from the gathered group of Gallians, and into the ship with their guards. After a few minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at the small mess hall of the Vasel. There was no one present, as most of the crew were dealing with damage control and helping the wounded.

"You say that you are part of a… Gallian 2nd Fleet, Rear Admiral?" Hoffman asked, as they sat down at one of the tables. "I'm sorry to say, I've never heard of such a fleet, or nation."

"Yes… and I have never heard of a nation called… Germany, was it?" Catharine asked, "Nor have I heard of America, France, or England."

"Excuse me?" Wagner asked with a raised eyebrow, as did Hoffman before Weber spoke.

"Sirs… I believe I have a theory as to why this is so." He said, "As… far fetched as it may be… we may not be in our own world anymore."

Hoffman and Wagner looked at the Captain, both of their eyes wide in shock.

"You mean like... a parallel universe?" Hoffman said, "But that's something you'd only read in those American comic books!"

"I thought the same thing… but it's the only answer that makes any sense." Webner said, "Admiral Malaya here has shown me maps and historical documents of her nation and world… nations that we know simply don't exist here. There are similarities… but we do not have factions like the Eastern Europan Imperial Alliance, the Atlantic Federation, or the Principality of Gallia. It seems… far too elaborate to be a ruse by the Allies or Axis from our world."

The two high ranking German commanders could only gape at that info. They tried to think of how this could be possible, when Hoffman's eyes widened in realization.

"The storm..." he said, "...the storm we ran right into. Could it have possibly...?"

"That storm was very… strange." Weber admitted, "We should never of been able to see an Aurora, and the clouds were too different… add to that, plus the fact we can't contact either the allies or our homeland... "

"Well, on the plus side… we don't have to worry about being hunted down by the hounds of the SS." Weber said, "Though on the downside… it seems we may have found ourselves in the middle of a much more dangerous war."

Catharine decided to speak "Just a few weeks ago, the Imperial Alliance launched an invasion of Gallia, starting off the Second Europan War." She said, "Their 205th and 101st Armored Divisions have decimated our forces in just a few weeks… from what I've heard, the Gallian Army and Militia are just barely managing to hold them off. And… if it wasn't for your intervention, the Imperial 9th Fleet might of been able to launch an amphibious assault on Gallia with that… monster of a ship they built."

"Why have the Imperials attacked you?" Hoffman asked.

"Gallia has the largest Ragnite deposits in all of Europa." Catharine explained, "The Imperials likely want Gallia under their control so they can keep pushing on the Atlantic Federation to achieve total Europan dominance."

"Ragnite?" Wagner asked with a raised eyebrow. "What is that?"

Catharine looked surprised "You… never heard of-" she began to say, before mentally slapping herself. "Right… different world… you see, Ragnite is primarily used as an energy source, but it also doubles for medical applications and weaponry. While nations like Ameria and Nihon have enough reserves to keep them independently sufficient… here in Europa, the AF and the Imperials are constantly battling for Ragnite. Gallia has tried to remain neutral in the conflicts… but the Imperials always try to invade us. We fought them back during the first war, but now… the Imperials have upped their game with superior tanks and troops than before."

"So this Ragnite is your world's equivalent to our Petroleum..." Hoffman muttered before a thought occurred to him. "Do any of these nations possess anything called Petroleum? Diesel? Fossil Fuels?"

Catharine thought about it for a moment "Well, the National Republic of Falken has harvested oil for years now…" She said, "But no one ever buys their oil for many uses. Most nations stick to Ragnite, it's far more powerful and potent than oil anyways. I've heard though that nations further south near the Afikan Nations use Oil much more there, since there isn't as much Ragnite in their nations."

Hoffman glanced at Wagner "Until we can figure out how this… Ragnite works, we are going to need a source of fuel." He whispered, "We have no way of knowing if our ships or vehicles can function properly with Ragnite… "

"Are you suggesting we cut a deal with the people of… Falken?" Wagner asked, however Hoffman smirked slightly.

"I think we are in a position where we can cut a deal with more than just them." He said, before turning back to Catharine. "Rear Admiral Malaya… is there by any chance we can meet with your leaders?"

Catharine frowned a bit as she thought about that.

"Well, I could try to get you an audience with Princess Cordelia of House Randgriz," she said, "Though lately, her power is being slowly stripped thanks to most of the Noble Houses and Aristocrats who only care about themselves. And the Prime Minister isn't helping things either."

The German officers felt uneasy at that, "What can you tell us about Gallia's...higher classes?" Wagner said.

"There are several smaller noble houses… but the three major ones are Houses Randgriz, Borg and Gassenarl." Catharine said, "House Randgriz is the leading House of Gallia, descended from the ancient Valkyrian Race. At least that what the legend says. Princess Cordelia is officially in charge… but she's only 16, her parents died several years ago, leaving her as their only heir… she does what she can, but she's still young and inexperienced."

"Then you have House Borg, who have always had close ties to House Randgriz." Catherine said, "They use to be very powerful… but after the last war, their power had begun to dwindle… their main heir and current prime minister - Mauritis von Borg, is acting as Cordelia's Regent." She then frowned a bit. "He's the one who makes the big decisions… but I don't trust the man. He's been trying to get Cordelia off the throne for years now because of her youth. Though I agree she's too young to be leading a nation… I'd rather have her on the throne than anyone from House Borg."

She then sighed "Finally, there's House Gassenarl." She said, "They use to be a major player in national politics in Gallia, but due to a falling out with House Randgriz, they got ejected from the capital. Since then, House Gassenarl has been concentrating on maintaining its power in the southern part of Gallia. It remained one of the most conservative families in Gallia, always eager to maintain the power of the nobility over commoners… but I trust them about as much as I trust anyone from house Borg."

Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Darcsen-hating bigots..." she muttered, before she realized she said the last part out loud. "Oh, uhh… sorry."

"It's quite alright," said Hoffman, before he decided to ask, "What is a Darcsen?"

Catharine, sighed as she pulled something from her pocket, and handed it to the Admiral, who saw it was a photograph. He looked at the picture and saw two young girls, with their arms around each others shoulders. The girl on the left looked like a mini-version of Catharine, while the one on the right had dark hair, and appeared younger than the girl on the right, dressed in a longsleeved dress, with a shawl with intricate design patterns.

"That's Tielle, she's Darcsen, and also...my adoptive younger sister," she said, and her eyes showed a bit of sadness, "My family has a rich military history, and have said that Racism and bigotry are a nuisance and must be eradicated from the military. My father followed that concept by adopting Tielle into the family."

"In… ancient history, Darcsens were said to of caused the Darcsen Calamity, using Ragnite weapons to destroy city after city… and only the Valkyrians were able to defeat them." She said, "Because of that… Darcsens were stripped of their last names and chased from their jobs and property, treated like second-class citizens across Europa… Gallia tries to be tolerant, but there are so many bigots in the military… the AF barely does anything about it, and the Imperials..." Catharine seemed to pause for a moment, as it seemed as if old memories were beginning to resurface.

"What do they do?" Hoffman asked, though he and Wagner were beginning to have an idea as to what the Imperials were doing…

"They made… a Darcsen-hunting task force..." Catherine said, "They… they hunt Darcsens like… like animals… the ones they… they don't kill… get sent to labor death camps in their borders…"

The Germans' eyes all narrowed at that, their worst fears confirmed. The Imperials were exactly like Hitler's Reich, and these 'Darcsen Hunters' are just like the SS, in every way shape and form. Their thoughts were broken as Catharine spoke again.

"About ten years ago, a group of those bastards came after sneaking past the border...," she said as her hands clenched into fists, "...they broke into our home and took Tielle...I was only 18 at the time."

They saw tears begin to fall from her eyes as she continued her story.

"I went after them, grabbing a rifle and chased them until we were almost to the border...," she said, and her eyes narrowed in hate, "When I came upon their camp...I can hear them laughing about how they..."

She didn't need to say anything more, as Weber looked at the Admiral and General. "Sirs..." he muttered.

Hoffman's eyes closed as his hands clenched into fists. "Miss Malaya… I am sorry for your loss..." he said, glancing at Wagner, who nodded. "I promise you… if you can get us in contact with House Randgriz… we will do everything in our power, to prevent… this from happening ever again… and make sure the Empire pays dearly for what they've done."

Catharine looked at them in surprise "W-what?" She asked, "But… why would you help us? You haven't-"

"I'm very good at reading people, Rear Admiral." Hoffman said, "I know your telling the truth with what you are saying… and back in our world… we knew a group of people who were just as bad as these Darcsen Hunters… if we can prevent what happened in our world, from happening here… we will go to any lengths to accomplish that."

Catharine was shocked by the strong honest tone in Hoffman's tone, and suspected that they must've witnessed the same thing that happened to her sister. She looked at the German officers whose eyes were as hard as steel, their resolve hardened.

"I… I will do what I can." She said, "Once our ship is able to get underway, your fleet can join us back to Winsart Naval Base."

The three nodded at that.

"Good," said Wagner, his face scrunched in thought, "Though we have to come up with a cover story in order to avoid any...unnecessary attention directed toward us. And I hope your country doesn't mind taking in refugees,"

Catharine blinked at that, "Refugees?" she said, as Hoffman scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Let's just say, our country was being lead by a very... questionable person," he said, and Wagner snorted while Weber rolled his eyes.

"Germany was being ruled by Hiter and his Nazi's… you could say they were just as bad as the Darcsen Hunters you told us about." Wagner said. "At first, Hitler wasn't too bad… after the first world war, in less than 20 years he turned an economically broken germany back into a European Superpower then conquered most of Europe in just a few years… but when we found out what he was doing behind the scenes… to the Jews, Gypsies, Handicapped… we could not serve that monster any longer."

"We left Germany, and we took with us the men we commanded, along with most of their families." Hoffman said. "We left armed with enough weaponry, manpower and firepower to conquer a small nation… we were intending to defect to the side of the Allies, and help them bring Hitler down… but then we ended up here."

Catharine was a bit surprised at that information, but she then hummed in thought "We may be able to work something out in terms of your backstory..." she said, "We could say you are the survivors of a nation the Imperials conquered in the far east… though I am not for sure how long that story would last."

Hoffman sighed "Its the best we can do, our situation is rather… abnormal afterall." He said, "If we have to, we'll tell the truth as we know it… we can only hope they can be as open-minded as you are, Rear Admiral."

The female officer nodded at that, "I hope so as well." she said, "For now, let's get you to Gallia, knowing by now, those two surviving Imperial ships will be halfway back to their naval port by now, and knowing the amount of damage you did to them, you possibly destroyed their radios. I have no doubt that they will be back... and with friends,"

The Germans all nodded at that. "Good point," they said at the same time.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

 **Winsart Naval Base**

* * *

After collecting what survivors they could find, the Gallian/German fleet set sail back to the Winsart Naval Base towards the south of Gallia. To the Germans it looked like any other Naval base, filled with smaller support ships and a few larger military ones. Though as they looked out at the docks, the German Crewmen could already see the shocked and confused looks from the Gallians as their ships moved into the port.

"They look at us as if they've never seen a dedicated warship before..." Weber muttered with a light chuckle, as he saw the Gallian's expressions from the _Tirpitz's_ bridge. "Well… I suppose they've never seen a ship like the _Graf_ before at least..."

The crewmen could only chuckle at that, knowing that their captain was right. They might've seen ships like the _Tirpitz_ before, but as for an aircraft carrier. Well, not exactly since aircraft in this world were just making an entrance. They headed towards a part of the port, where the transports were moving toward some empty docks in order to disembark their passengers.

"At least the civilians will be safe now..." The Captain said, as he readjusted his cap. "I hope our cover story holds for a while at least..."

* * *

The Port Commander sighed, leaning back in his chair as he looked at his 'audience' before him. Rear Admiral Catharine Malaya, along with Admiral Hoffman and General Von Wolfe. "This… is one hell of a tail you've got here, Ma'am." he said, "Normally I'd question this… but those ships certainly aren't of Imperial or Federation make…and the photos your men took during the battle are equally convincing, how they sunk the _Leviathan_."

"So, that ship was called the _Leviathan_ then?" Hoffman asked, as the Commander nodded.

"Yeah, she was one of the Emperor's new Plan V strategy." He said, "Its all rather hush-hush, but from the Federation, we've heard the Imperials have been making a whole series of new wonder weapons to help them defeat Gallia and the Federation. The _Leviathan_ was one of the few that we knew existed… but we had no idea that they would've sent it to the Gallian front… the fact that you were able to sink her so easily… it's simply astounding. How could you have lost against the Empire? With such technology at your disposal..."

"Their attack caught us by surprise," Wagner informed, "The _Graf Zeppelin_ and her air contingency are prototypes really, and are the only functioning models we were able to produce before we had to withdraw. Anything else regarding their creation that we did not take with us, we destroyed. You won't have to worry about the Imperials getting air combat craft anytime soon."

The base commander sighed "Well, that's a relief at least." He said, "As for your families, I've already sent word to Randgriz. I've got nothing official until I hear back from them, but I think we can find someplace for them to settle… for now at least. South Gallia is largely being ignored by the empire, so its safest for them there. More and more people are either volunteering or being conscripted into the Militia, so there's plenty of room for them."

"That's good to hear," said Wagner, "And I hope our troops can be of help to this war in anyway. However, I have no intention of my men being under the command of one of those stuck up nobles."

The Port Commander chuckled a bit at that. "I doubt they would. Nobles are too prideful to command foreigners in combat." he said. "Though… I do know one person who would be more than happy to have your forces."

"Who?" Hoffman asked.

"Aalina von Damon, her brother is Georg von Damon, but thankfully they're nothing alike." The Commander said, "She's in charge of the Gallian Militia, and considering how they could always use some more firepower, she'd gladly accept your support. Hell you'd probably be giving her more support than the central army does."

Wagner could only shake his head, "Let me guess, the Nobility controls most of the Regular Army?" he asked, and the Commander could only sigh in exasperation.

"Bingo in one go," he said.

The German commanders could only sigh in annoyance.

"Well that's just great," said Hoffman.

"Its not too bad," The commander said, "If you operate under the Militia, it will be Aalina who will have the final say for your orders, not the Central Army. Georg tries to avoid using the militia anyways, confident in his own troops."

"Where could we meet with Colonel Damon?" Wagner asked.

The Base Commander had a thoughtful look "Hmm… if memory serves me right, she left with Squads 7 and 1 to the Barious Desert, near the old ruins… not sure why the Empire's there to begin with though."

Before the Germans could say anything, the doors to the Commander's office opened as an aide stepped inside, "Sorry to interrupt sir, but we've received orders from Headquarters." he said, "They want Squad 5 to leave for the Barious Desert ASAP."

The base commander rose an eyebrow "Why?" He asked, "Didn't they already send Squads 1 and 7?"

"Yes sir, but they're asking for Squad 5 now as well." The Aide said, handing him the orders. "We have intelligence that points that Prince Maximilian himself may be in the area."

The commander's eyes widen at that, "Is it legitimate?" he said, and the aide nodded. "Yes sir, and it looks like he's interested in the ruins."

The Commander thought about what he was informed before he nodded.

"Alright, we'll send Squad 5 out as well," he said, before Wagner spoke up.

"I am assuming that this Prince Maximilian is an important figure in the Imperial military?" He asked, and the Commander nodded.

"He's the Crown Prince of the Empire, and the overall Commander of the Empire's invasion in Gallia," he said, and Wagner eyes narrowed a bit.

"If you would allow it Commander, I would like to volunteer a few squads of my own forces to travel with them."

The Commander, the aide, and Catharine were surprised by this, while Hoffman just smirked a bit, knowing what Wagner was planning.

A-Are you sure General? Your people just arrived and..." Catharine began to say but Wagner held up his hand to stop her.

"My troops are ready, willing, and able, Rear Admiral," he said, "A few cases of sea sickness won't stop them."

"The Graf Zeppelin's air contingency shall deploy as well," Hoffman said nodding, "We still have plenty of fuel for them, and knowing that he Imperils have means of properly countering our aircraft gives us a distinct advantage."

The base commander looked between the two, before he sighed "Well, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth." he said, "Get your men ready, General, Admiral. Squad 5 will probably leave ASAP to be at the desert by 18:00."

The two nodded and they left the office to inform their subordinates.

"Sir, you think it was a good idea to send these people out so soon after they arrive?" asked the Aide, which made the Port commander turn his head toward his aide-de-camp with a small glare.

"Why you ask that? Have a thing against foreigners?" he asked and the aide was taken aback by that.

"Wha-No! That's not what I meant!" he said hurriedly.

Wagner raised his hand "It is alright," he said, "I understand your worry, but believe me - our men have had to deal with far worse than this. They can handle a march to the desert." He then stood up. "I'll assemble the teams we'll be sending."

With that, he left the room, leaving a grinning Admiral, and three stumped Gallians.

"Is he serious?" Catharine said, and Hoffman just chuckled.

"Trust me, my dear Rear Admiral," he said, as he began to walk out, "He was once surrounded by a whole division of enemy troops, and he manage to to break out with only a battalion. He is one of the greatest military minds Germany has ever seen… second only to the man we call the Desert Fox. He knows what he's doing."

The Admiral then stood up "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to my own ship." He said, "Our air crews need to rearm our aircraft for anti-ground combat."

* * *

Later - With Squad 5

* * *

"Come on! Come on! Let's move it!" Shouted a man wearing the officer version of the Gallian militia uniform, with short red hair and blue eyes, as Gallian Militiamen and women ran into the hangar as they prepared the vehicles they had. "I want the Devastator ready to move out in five minutes! Anyone not hitching a ride with me and Ramsey are using the trucks, or you're walking!"

"Irons!" A female voice shouted, as 2nd Lieutenant Roberto Irons turned as Ramsey Clement walked ran up to him. "Devastator's good to go, but we're still low on high explosive mortar rounds, we've only got eight shots left before we're stuck with armor piercing."

"It'll have to do," Roberto said, "If we're going against Imperial Tanks, we'll need the armor piercing rounds more than high explosives anyways. Just get her ready!"

"Yes sir!" Ramsey said before she ran back towards the 'Devastator', a Gallian Type 79 Tank Destroyer. Gallia had very few of these deadly machines, as they had always had a focus on their cheaper Type 75 Light Tanks which were faster and more maneuverable sure, but didn't stand a chance against Imperial Armor. Thankfully the Devastator was a different story, as it had armor comparable to the growing famous Edelweiss, and its main gun was equally powerful.

Of course, the problem was the fact the gun was mounted forward, meaning the whole tank would need to move around to change targets. While it wasn't ideal for urban battles, it was perfect for long-range 'anti-tank sniper action' as Ramsey called it. And ever since the invasion began, they've been using the Devastator with great effect, as one could tell from the eight small images of Imperial Tanks painted along its left side, indicating all of its kills.

"Are they just sending us, Boss?" Roberto turned and saw Freesia York giving him a bit of an uneasy look, "I mean, if the reports of Maximilian being there are true, we're going to go up against his most Elite troops, they're different than the normal Imperials we've been fighting."

"It may be true, Freesia," said Robert, "But Squad 7 and 1 need our help, and we're the only unit available who can get there in time, hopefully our three squads together will have a chance in this fight."

"Overwhelming odds, small chance of success, what are we waiting for?" Nina Streiss said as she hefted her Lance over her shoulder.

"Only you Nina..." Ramona Linton said shaking her head.

"Just get us ready to head out!" Roberto said, "Get any-"

His commands were cut off as he heard what sounded like tanks mobilizing, he glanced at the Devastator, but it had yet to move. "What the hell?" Montley Leonard asked, glancing around. "We don't have anymore tanks here..."

Roberto's eyes narrowed, as he moved towards where the noise was coming from. He rounded the side of the garage they were using as their barracks, before he stopped in his tracks as he looked in shock and confusion. "What the…?"

A Small column of tanks Roberto had never seen before were moving away from the harbor. He could count a grand total of twenty tanks, many of which looked oddly similar to the Edelweiss, but not exactly. Though many of them possessed very intimidating cannons as they moved by. The tanks were soon followed by smaller trucks and vehicles, and numerous soldiers with various weapons marching alongside them.

The column of tanks and vehicles then made a sharp turn and stopped on the spot followed by the infantry, with the men Roberto saw that he believed were the officers shouting orders.

"Men! Halt!" the soldiers stopped with a final stomp of their boots on the ground. "Left FACE!"

As one the troops turned facing Roberto, who was still shocked at what he was seeing. He was not the only one, as the rest of Squad 5 came out and their reaction was the same.

"Who the heck are they?" said the shocktrooper Vyse Inglebard, as he looked at the gathered group of soldiers in front of them. Then an officer came one of the smaller vehicles, dressed as the rest of the officers, but wearing a pair of goggles on his cap, and headed towards the Militia Squad.

The man removed his goggles as he faced Roberto "Are you Lieutenant Roberto Irons of Squad 5?" He asked.

"...Yes..." Roberto said nodding, "But… who are-"

"Captain Garen Raimond, 13th Panzer Regiment." The man said. "My Superior and your base commander have ordered us to accompany you to the Barious Desert. If your men are ready, we can head out immediately."

Roberto was shocked at that info as he looked back at the group of tanks, vehicles, and troops waiting for the go ahead. He could see by their faces that these men were veterans just by the look in their eyes. That, and they carried with them a strong confidence.

Roberto felt like smiling, knowing he didn't want pass up this offer of reinforcements.

He then snapped to attention giving a salute. "We'll be happy to have you, Captain sir!" He said, "We're leaving ASAP!"

Garen smirked a bit as he nodded "Alright, get your men in your vehicles so we can move out!" He said, before he turned back to his men. He shouted out something in a language Roberto was not familiar with, as the soldiers all began to march as their tanks began moving as well.

Roberto turned back to his squad "You heard the man! Move it!" He shouted, "We ain't getting paid by the hour here!"

* * *

Patriot-112: An excellent first chapter done.

117Jorn: Took us a while to get this posted, but we had to do some rewriting as new ideas hit us. Expect a lot of action from here on in!

Patriot-112: So until next time…

Everyone: JA NE!


	2. Chapter 1: Panzer Vor!

**AN: Same disclaimer as before.**

* * *

 **Europa, 1935 EC**

 **Gallia, Barious Desert**

* * *

Prince Maximilian Gaius Von Reginrave chuckled as he stood atop the Batomy's, one of the latest war assets created by the Imperial Alliance for their war against the Gallians and the Atlantic Federation. Though it was still in the prototype phase, Maximilian knew that there were at least two of these mighty vehicles built - his, and the modified Echidna used by the Calamity Ravens. It was impervious to nearly any assault the Gallians could ever hope to bring against him.

"Now dear Gallians," he spoke, "Flee or be crushed underfoot of the Batomys!"

"Your Grace," Selvaria Bles said as she walked up next to him. "I will eliminate the forces east of the temple, then return to provide support."

Maximilian nodded "Very well," he said, "Though I doubt I shall require your assistance." He then began to climb inside the tank. "The Batomy's shall rest atop their riven camp before long."

Selvaria merely nodded her head in response, "I understand, Your Grace," she said, as she lifted her newly acquired weapons. These were given to her by the Prince in order to better harness her Valkyrian powers, after they successfully found them in the ancient temple.

Of course, they ran into a... small problem. That being in the form of three members of the Gallian Militia. Which now, apparently, stood before them with their Squad of soldiers. Selvaria knew not how they were able to enter the secret chamber of the temple, for only a Valkyrian could open the doors… but it mattered not. For she knew that they would be victorious in this battle, thanks to both her grace's Batomys, and her own newly acquired weapons as she headed off.

Meanwhile, the members of Squad 7 looked at the incoming super tank with wide eyes "Welkin..." Alicia Melchiott muttered.

"Holy shit..." Largo Potter cursed, "I… doubt my Lance is gonna do much against armor _that_ thick..."

"And I _don't_ like the look of that cannon," Rosie said, her grip on her SMG tightening. "I'd like to _avoid_ it if possible..."

Welkin's eyes narrowed as he saw the tank approach. "I want everyone in the trenches! Find what cover you can!" He ordered, "Focus on the infantry supporting it for now! That thing's gotta have a weak point somewhere, no tank is invincible!" He then glanced down into the Edelweiss. "Isara! Pull us back!"

"Right!" Isara said, as she yanked back on the tank's controls as the Edelweiss began moving in reverse, while the Gallians of Squad 7 took cover wherever they could.

"Just our luck," Emile Bielert cursed as he, Jann Walker and Edy Nelson took cover to a set of trenches behind some older stone ruins. "They send us here to the middle of nowhere, and the Imps send in a freaking super tank here!"

"We're… gonna be alright… right?" Edy asked, starting to look a bit panicked.

"Sure we will!" Jann said, as he armed his Anti-Tank Lance. "We'll get that big tank one way or another!"

"Let's hope so!" Oscar Bielert said as he slid into the cover as well, bringing up his Sniper Rifle. "This cover won't last forever if they target us..."

Meanwhile, the Edelweiss retreated back towards their first forward base, where Alicia supported Welkin and Isara along with : Marina Wulfstan, Audrey Heitinga, Aisha Neumann, and Karl Landzaat. Imperial soldiers were moving from behind the Batomy's, opening fire on their position, as the Gallian troops returned fire with their Gallian-3 Rifles, or in Marina's case, her Brondel M3 Sniper Rifle, and Aisha's MAGS M3 Machine Gun. The Imperials took cover as well, as they returned fire.

"Take this!" Audrey shouted as she brought her Mark II Anti-Tank Lancaar, and fired a shot at the Batomy's, her shot heading right for its front. While the shot hit, it did little more than damage one of the Anti-Infantry turrets along the hull of the super-tank. The tank itself not even bothering to stop as it continued its movement forward towards them.

"Move back!" Welkins shouted, "He's coming right towards us!" The Squadmates didn't need to be told twice, as they began retreating from the forward base, firing on their persuers as they maneuvered through the ruins as the Batomy's crushed their camp.

As they drove past the ruins, Welkin glanced at the as an idea came to mind. "Isara, raise up the gun! Target that tall standing ruin piece!" He shouted, causing his adopted sister to blink.

"What?" She asked.

"We may not be able to stop it, but we might be able to slow it down." Welkin said, "A well-placed shot should cause the fragment to collapse in that tank's path to our base!"

Isara saw what her brother was trying to do, and nodded "Right!" She said, as she elevated the Eldeweiss's main gun turret while still going in reverse. She fired off a single round from the Theimer 40/88mm cannon. The high-explosive round hit the target true as the ruin began to shake, before it collapsed in front of the Batomys.

The Batomy's came to a stop, before its main gun turned as it targeted the rubble. It then fired with a massive explosion of firepower as it blasted the debris out of the way.

Welkin's eyes widened at the sheer firepower of the tank. "That main gun is lethal!" he shouted, "But… there has to be a way..."

"Welks!" Isara said as her head poked out of the tank, her hand pointing towards the Batomy. "Look at that! On the top!"

Welkin looked, and indeed emerging from the top of the tank were three glowing areas, venting out steam. "What are those?" He asked.

"They must be Ragnite Radiators!" Isara said, "Heat sinks for dissipating the temperature of the Ragnite fuel cells! They must use them to cool the cannon after firing it." She then turned to her brother, "Welks, if we damage or destroy them, it should seriously upset that tank's functions, maybe even prevent them from firing their main gun!"

"Then that's our target!" Welkin said, as he lifted up his radio. "Alright everyone, we have a plan! Target the radiators _on top_ of the tank! If we take those out, we might be able to damage that thing! Infantry will have to climb up using the ladders."

"You want us to _CLIMB_ that thing?!" Rosie shouted, "That's insane! Its got Anti-Infantry turrets on all sides!"

"Our Lancers are capable of destroying the smaller turrets," Welkin said, "Once someone gets close enough, the turrets won't even be able to reach them! Its the only chance we've got!"

The Squad knew that it was their only ticket to getting out of here. They, although reluctantly, decided to do what their Squad Leader said, and got ready.

"If we die from this Nature Boy," Rosie said as she glared at the biology student, "I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your damn life! This life and the next!"

Welkin didn't say anything as he kept his eyes on the personal super tank of the Crown Prince.

 _'I know it can work_.' he thought, _'But I wouldn't mind reinforcements to help us out._ '

* * *

 **With Squad 1 and 3**

* * *

"AH DAMMIT!" shouted Hector Calvey as that woman's strange weapon fire that beam of light which barely got him, and the three others with him. "Since when did the Empire start making weapons like _that_!"

"I don't know, but we sure as hell could use one!" Musaad Mayfield shouted, as he fired his rifle at the woman, who simply raised her shield to block the attacks with a barrier. "Damn! We threw tanks, lances and bullets and its not doing a damn thing!"

"Squad 3's almost been wiped out!" Ramal Valt shouted as he took cover behind some debris next to Squad 1's leader - Faldio Landzaat. "Sir, what do we do?"

Faldio was silent for a moment as he growled. If this was a normal battle, he might of been able to figure something out… but that woman with the silver hair ruined every plan he could develop. Her shield made her nearly invincible, and her lance destroyed their tanks with ease.

 _'A shield to block all of men's arrows..._ ' He thought to himself, _'It should be impossible, but…_ '

"Sir!" Ramal shouted, breaking Faldio out of his musings. "What do we do?!"

Faldio tisked as he sat up "We can't keep taking this much damage!" He said, "Grab the wounded! We need to pull back!"

Ramal blinked in surprise, "But, sir… we can't-" he began, but he was cut off as Faldio gave him a glare.

"That woman will _slaughter_ us if we stay!" He said, "We don't have anywhere near the firepower to take her on! We need to move NOW!"

Ramal flinched before he nodded "Y-Yes sir!" He said before he ran off to send word of the order to pull out.

'Assuming we can even GET out of here...' Faldio thought before picking his rifle back up.

Meanwhile, Selvaria casually walked towards the Gallian forces with her lance at the ready with her shield. Personally, she didn't want to kill the Gallians, for she had to admire their courage at the very least, and they were admittedly craft as they, albeit futile, tried to defeat her. But she also knew she must protect his grace no matter what. _'At least I can give them a quick, painless death.'_ She thought as she prepared to fire her Lance once more.

However, before she could fire, she heard the incoming sound of a shell being fired. Cursing, she quickly raised her shield, and caught the shell fired at her. "Who was that?" She shouted as she searched for the source.

Faldio's eyes widened in surprise, where did that shot come from? All of their tanks were destroyed during the battle! "Where did that-" He began to shout, before he looked to the distance, and saw a Gallian Tank Destroyer over the ledge, its barrel smoking from its recent discharge.

Its appearance was soon followed as numerous more men and women in Gallian Militia uniforms came rushing in, shouting battle cries as they fired suppressing fire on the Imperials, forcing the regulars to take cover.

"Faldio!" A voice shouted, as Faldio looked as Roberto Irons came running towards him. "Glad to see you're alive!"

"Roberto?!" Faldio said in surprise, "What… what are you doing here? I thought you were-"

"We got word a few hours ago you might need our help." Roberto said, "We didn't think it would be this bad though… who the hell is that chick out there?"

"I don't know… but she single-handedly destroyed us." Faldio said shaking his head, "Squad 3 is almost gone… Squad 1 can't take these losses anymore - we need to pull back!"

Roberto nodded "I agree," he said, "Get your men up and ready! We need to get the hell out of here now!"

Selvaria watched as the new Gallian forces provided suppressive fire, allowing their battered allies to retreat. She didn't like attacking a retreating foe… but before she had to make the decision, her radio came to life. " _Selvaria, I need you back here_."

The Valkyrian woman's eyes widened as she picked up the Radio "Your Grace! What's happened?" She asked.

" _The Gallians are more…_ crafty _than I gave them credit for_." Maximilian said, " _They've destroyed one of the Batomy's radiators. While we are fine for now, every time we fire our main gun the radiators must be revealed, giving the Gallians the chance they need to attack. I need you and your forces back here as soon as you are able!_ "

"The Gallians are in full retreat here, sire!" Selvaria said, "We will head your way immediately!" She then keyed the Radio to all of the Imperial forces she commanded. "Hear me, loyal men of The Empire! Our Grace needs our aide! Hawk Legion, mobilize to the ruins!"

"Yes Ma'am!" was the responding cry of the men under her command and the infantry and tanks of the mentioned legion began to disengage from their fight and head toward the ruins to help their Crown Prince.

Faldio turned when he noticed the Imperial gunfire began to wind down. And his eyes widened as he saw the Imperials take their attention off of them and head straight for the ruins...with the woman in the lead.

"Oh no...Welkin!" he said, slightly worried for his friend and picked up his handheld radio. "Welkin, come in! Do you read me!?"

" _Faldio, what's happening_?" Welkin's voice spoke up on the radio, " _I'm a bit… busy here!"_

Faldio sighed "Welkin… we couldn't do a thing against her," he said, "I'm sorry… she had a spiral lance and shield… They… they were the arms of a Valkyria, Welkin. Squad 3's been nearly destroyed, and my squad isn't in much better shape… we need to pull back. Whatever you do Welkin… do NOT fight her!"

There was a pause on the radio before Welkin spoke up again " _Alright, we'll make this quick then_." He said, " _We have a way to kill this Tank, but we need to work fast! You get out of here Faldio!"_

"Right… be careful Welkin." Faldio said before he sighed. "Roberto, once we're clear, you and your Squad should head over to Welkin's position - support them as best you-"

"Already taken care of, Faldio." Roberto said, as he smirked a bit. "We didn't come here alone… the Imperials won't know what hit e'm."

Faldio blinked at that, "What? Who? The Regulars?" he asked, and Roberto only scoffed.

"As if General Damon could spare a bunch of spoiled regulars to help us," Roberto said, the smirk never leaving his face, "The guys we came with are in a whole different league."

* * *

 **With Squad 7**

* * *

An Explosion rocked the Batomy, as Rosie along Juno Coren, and Edy Nelson jumped from the Batomy just as the next radiator exploded.

"Okay, that's another one down!" Shouted Rosie as she fired her MAGS into an Imperial Shocktrooper, riddling his steel breastplate with holes. "Ya know, why do the Imps still wear that armor? Doesn't really protect them from bullets..."

"Now is NOT the time Rosie!" Edy shouted as the three of them ducked for cover in the next trench. "We just got one more to go!"

"Uhh… guys!" Oscar said, looking down the scope of his sniper rifle. "We've got company! Lots and LOTS of company!"

The others looked, and sure enough a whole force of Imperial forces including tanks and infantry was marching towards them, looking more than ready for a fight. And leading this new group of Imperials was a woman wearing a black uniform, with long silver hair wielding a white lance and shield.

"Lord Maximilian... " she whispered, before she began to raise her arms wide, before she was surrounded by her glowing blue aura. "Cobalt flames of the Valkyrur, smite our foes!" Her weapons came to life, as her lance extended, and her shield widened. "All Forces! There stands Gallia - Claim her!"

With that command, the Imperial Troops began their charge, shouting their war cries as tanks and infantry alike advanced forward.

"Oh shiiit..." Largo muttered as he readied his Lance once more. "Not good, _not_ good!"

Welkin growled "Backup troops..." he muttered, "Everyone! Focus on that last Radiator! Don't worry about the reinforcements, but stay away from that woman!"

"No need to tell them twice, Welkin!" said Alicia as she readied her Gallian-3 rifle, "But we're going to need reinforcements to get us out of this alive...or a miracle."

Welkin didn't say anything, but then something caught his attention as he heard a strange low humming.

"Alicia do you hear that?" he said.

Alicia blinked but soon she heard it and she nodded, however she was not the only one as both Gallian and Imperial forces all heard the strange distant low hum, which was steadily getting louder by the minute. The noise actually beginning a momentary pause to the battle, as both forces glanced around in confusion at the sound. Even Selvaria looked confused. "What in the name of the Valkyrur..." she muttered.

 **BGM: Erika - German Military March**

Soon, another noise joined the growing hum, as the sound of mechanical vehicles could be heard. Then, they appeared - over the hill emerged over a dozen armored vehicles, most of which were tanks, but of a model Selvaria had never seen before. On top of the leading tank, a young man spoke something into a Radio, before waving his hand forward. The Tanks then unleashed a full barrage of cannon fire at the Imperials, catching the stunned soldiers by surprise as the first salvo alone knocked out three of their light tanks immediately, and shrapnel claiming even more lives. Then… a swarm of infantry charged in from behind the tanks, as the tanks themselves advanced forward.

Selvaria cursed as she raised her shield to block one of the shells fired at her - the impact actually forcing her back a few steps. _'Who are these-_ ' she began to think, before the loud humming from before almost became deafening… until she began to hear a odd screeching sound from above. She looked up, before her eyes widened as emerging from the clouds were strange vehicles, diving down on both her forces, and the Batomy. The aircraft dropped something from underneath them, and once it hit the surface of the Batomy, several explosions rocked the supertank, and the other bombs blasted apart much of her Infantry.

Then she heard the unmistakable sound of machine gun fire as the dirt around her started to kick up while moving in a straight line, barely missing her, but her troops were not so lucky, as as five more of the machines zipped over her at high speed.

Back with the Gallians, they were all shocked at what they were seeing unfold in front of them.

"What the _hell_ is going on around here!?" Rosie as she saw the Imps getting torn a new one as one of the new tanks fired a shot from it's cannon and blasted a Fatherland tank to pieces.

"They're… flying..." Isara said with wide eyes as she looked at the flying machines tearing through the skies as if they were birds. "They're flying..."

Selvaria - finally snapping out of the shock, immediately knew that Maximilian was in danger "Prince Maximilian!" She shouted, as she used her enhanced speed to dash towards the crippled Batomy's.

Then the tell-tale whistling of incoming artillery was heard as shells landed all around her. However it didn't stop her as she continued on her course, using her speed and her eyesight to dodge the shells.

In the Air, Jaden watched from above as the monster of a tank was dealt a crippling blow, as a 1000 lb. bomb hit the beast and damaged it's engine.

"Bingo..." he said, however his eyes narrowed as he saw a figure jumping onto the and opening the side hatch, "Oh no you don't"

He then maneuvered his craft as he lined his Zero into an attack run.

"Lord Maximilian!" Selvaria cried as she opened the hatch and the one she was calling out for staggered out of the smoke filled tank, coughing, and into the arms of one of his most loyal generals.

"Selvaria...*Cough, cough* order our troops to withdraw at once! A lesson has been made here today! And that is to expect the unexpected," He ordered and Selvaria nodded her head her red eyes showing concern for her Prince. However the sounds of an approaching flying machine filled their ears, as Selvaria looked up to see a dark green machine diving towards them, firing its machine guns and cannons down on them. Selvaria rose her shield to defend herself and Maximilian, before raising her lance and firing off a beam of light. Her shot wasn't particularly accurate, but her attack manage to damage one of the wings of the flying machine.

"FUCK!" Jaden shouted, as his Zero shook from the impact, "You are SO paying for this!" Jaden rigged the controls to continue flying forward, before he opened the cockpit canopy.

Selvaria smirked as she managed to hit the aircraft… but that smirk soon vanished as she realized the machine was not changing course, and she watched to her shock as a humanoid figure climbed out of the machine, and jumped out as it continued to speed towards the Batomys. Selvaria acted quickly, as she grabbed her Lord, and leaped off of the Batomys, and just a few moments later the Zero crashed into the Batomy's, causing a massive explosion effectively destroying the gigantic super-tank.

Jaden quickly pulled the cord to his Parachute, as the cloth parachute opened up as his descent to the ground was slowed. "Well… there goes another one of my planes..." he muttered to himself with a growl as he gently headed to the ground.. "Gonna take me a while to get a new one… I ain't stealing one of the other's 109's..."

Garen watched from his position in the half-track as he saw Jaden bailout from his Zero.

"Scheisse!" he cursed before he turned to a soldier on a BMW R75 motorcycle with a sidecar. "Get out there and get him! If the Imperials capture him, they do anything to get intel on us and our weapons!"

The motorcycle trooper saluted at the order and revved the R75 and took off in the direction of the parachute.

"Well, I guess I could take this as a blessing in disguise," Jaden mused to himself as he waited for him to hit the dirt. "I can make a whole new plane from scratch… the engine was starting to seem a bit underpowered anyways. I should've used a Mitsubishi Ha-43 engine to begin with anyways..." He glanced down as he groaned as the surface came closer "I hate this part..."

Jaden hit the dirt, as he curled up into a ball as he rolled with the impact lest he break his legs. "Itai!" He shouted as he slowed to a halt. He stood up, brushing the dust off. "Alright, now to get this thing-" however a large gust of wind hit his parachute, which sent him flying backwards. "OH SHIT!" he shouted as he found himself back in the air.

Welkin blinked as he heard someone screaming… before Jaden went flying overhead with his parachute, shocking all of the Gallians. "CURSE YOU DESERT WINDS!" He could hear the man shouting as he flew over them… and towards a wall.

Isara's eyes widened "Watch out for that-"

BOOM

"...wall..."

Jaden had hit the wall face-first, his body twitching as he began to slide down. "Itai… Itai… Itai..." he muttered, before he finally managed to pull the parachute off, before he lied on the ground. "That. Fucking. HURT!"

"Ouch..that had to suck," said Emile Bielert, just as the sound of a motorcycle was heard approaching.

"Thank you...Captain Obvious," Jaden growled out as he slowly began to get up, removing his flight cap in the process. "I. Hate. PARACHUTES!"

The Gallians just sweatdropped at that just as one of the new Soldiers with a motorcycle arrived.

"Sir, are you alright?" the soldier said as he got off.

"I just jumped out of an airplane after being shot at by magical laser beams, and falling several hundred feet from the sky, and then crashed into a freaking wall!" Jaden shouted, as he tried to walk forward, though he had a bit of a stagger to his walk. "But, other than that… and probably a few broken bones… I'm fine!"

"Well, at least I know your spirit is intact sir," he said with a deadpan only to get a piece of stone in the face making him fall on his back.

"Smartass...," Jaden as he limped toward the Edelweiss and leaned back against the tank as the sounds of the battle still continued. "Today… is not my day..."

"Umm… excuse me?" A voice said, causing Jaden too blink as he glanced up, and saw a woman on top of the tank he was leaning on, with oddly enough dark purple hair and eyes, and wearing a cloth around her shoulders with a set of patterns, looking down at him. "Who… who are you?"

Jaden blinked before he finally realized the audience he had managed to gain, as many of the Gallians were looking at him with gazes of confusion and shock. "Oh… uh, well..." he said, "I'm… Jaden Takeo, of the 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Corps, on loan to the German Luftwaffe, and the German Kriegsmarine… in other words, those guys." He pointed up into the air as a pair of Bf 109T's flew overhead.

"You were in one of those?" The young woman said and Jaden could swear he saw a sparkle of curious interest in her eyes.

"Y-Yeah, I was piloting one of them. I was the pilot of the one that crashed into that beast of a tank," he said a little bit uneasily.

"Wow!" The woman said as she hopped off of the tank, landing next to him. "I never thought I'd see something fly like that! You didn't even have any Ragnite Radiators anywhere to be seen! How do you make things like that?"

"Well… ah, we don't necessarily use Ragnite-" He began to say, before Rosie marched up towards them.

"Excuse me! But just who the hell are you people?!" She shouted, "I've never heard of a place called Germany, or this Imperial Japanese Navy!"

"Whoa! Calm down Miss Hellion!" Jaden said, with his arms raised in surrender, trying to placate the woman, but that didn't work as Rosie's glare increased ten-fold.

"Hellion!? I'll show you a Hellion!" she made to grab Jaden by the throat, but was stopped as Largo, and other members of the Squad held her back, "Let me go! Let me at him!"

"Rosie! We're in the middle of a combat zone!" Largo tried to reason.

"Not for much longer, it seems." Jaden observed as he glanced behind the Edelweiss, "Those Imps are in full retreat right now." The others blinked and, sure enough, the Imperial Troops were running away with their tails between their legs as the Fighters and Bombers continued to strafe them, combined with artillery fire, effectively kicking them out of the desert.

Then one of the Halftracks came up to them, and the rear hatches opened, allowing for Garen to disembark. He saw Jaden and gave a bit of a stern look.

Before he could say anything Jaden held up his hand. "Yes, I know, it was stupid, reckless, and a waist of a damn good plane. I heard this line before." He said, "But in case you forgot… THAT LADY SHOT A FREAKING LASER AT ME! There wasn't any way I was getting back to the Graf Zeppelin in its condition!"

The Wehrmacht blinked a bit at that, before he fake coughed into his hand, "Yes, I was going to reprimand you for that. But, I was also going to commend you on destroying that monster of a tank.

Jaden blinked owlishly, as he sheepishly scratched behind his head.

"Oh. Hehehe...oops," he said, before he heard a yelp of pain and turned just in time to see the angry redhead charge right at him, the large man who was holding her back now on the ground, groaning in pain as he covered his manhood.

"Oh son of a..." Jaden muttered, before Rosie grabbed him and shoved him into the side of the Half-track, holding him by the neck.

"I want answers, and I want them NOW!" She shouted, "I have NOT been having a good day today, so I won't put up with any more Bull!"

"We would... gladly... tell you...," said Jaden gagging a bit, "But I...can barely...talk ...with your...hands...around my...throat!"

Rosie reluctantly, but surely, let the pilot go, and he began gasping for air.

"Thank you...," he said, "Now I think that Captain Raimond will explain, who we are and why we're here,"

Garen could only sigh, "Make yourselves comfortable, this will take a while." he said.

* * *

 **Roughly half an hour later**

* * *

"...so basically, since it's unlikely we're going home again, our forces have decided to throw our lot in with Gallia, to help you defeat the Empire." Garen finished, "Now… any questions?"

The Gallians were stunned into silence by this after Garen told their cover story.

Although he saw some traces of doubt on the faces on some of the Militia, like the Squad Lieutenant and a few others, he knew they won't cause too much trouble.

"So… your nation was taken over by the Imperials… so you came here?" Rosie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We were trying to find somewhere our families could be safe, at least for a while." Garen explained, "We lost our homes to Imperialist assholes like Maximilian and his lackeys… if we can prevent what happened to our homes from happening to yours… we'll do our best to pull it off."

"The Imperials struck us so hard and fast, it caught us off guard. That won't be happening again." Jaden said. "Though on the plus side, all data on our aircraft was kept on the _Graf Zeppelin_ \- our flagship, along with all prototypes. We didn't have the chance to actually test them against Imperial Forces… until now." He then grinned as he glanced at the still burning hulk of the Batomys. "And we've had some resounding success as you can see."

The Gallians looked at the once intimidating Super tank, as well as the devastation caused to the rest of the Imp Force.

"You got a point there," said Largo, "Those guns on your tanks are quite powerful, if anything,"

The moment he finished, one of the King Tigers moved up to them and stopped next to the Edelweiss, followed by the other tanks, and the Gallians watched as their tank crews began to disembark from their vehicles.

"And five… six… seven!" One of the Tank Crewmen said, as he took out a small paintbrush and began painting small tank-like pictures along the side of a Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer. "I think we broke our old record boys! Those Imp Tanks weren't as tough as we thought they'd be!"

"We're going to need more paint!" joked another crewmen, this one appearing to be the youngest, as he and his friends laughed at that.

"Alright you Hyenas settle down," said the Commander. "Prioritize maintenance, make sure those grazing shots didn't damage anything more than the paintjob."

"Jawohl!" The crewmen said, as they painted put on the seventh tank picture, before he headed towards the back of the tank to check the engine.

"Once we refuel our tanks, tend to the wounded and scavenge what we can from the Imps, we're heading back to Randgriz." Garen said. "We will be meeting up with Squad 5, along with what's left of Squads 1 and 3 on the way."

Welkin nodded as he gave a salute, "Yes sir. Oh, and thank you for the help,"

Garen smiled as he saluted back, and then turned back to his men as they went about their task.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, at the 4th Militia Regimental Headquarters**

* * *

Aalina von Damon, the commanding officer of the 4th Militia Regiment blinked at the message that was just delivered to her.

"Is...is this correct, Eleanor?" she asked, as one of her Battalion commanders, one Captain Eleanor Varrot nodded.

"I found it hard to believe myself… but I just got the report from Welkin, and the report from Commander Stahl at Winsart." She said shaking her head. "These… Germans have multiple regiments and battalions of tanks, infantry, artillery and even flying machines unlike anything we've ever seen. Including a fleet of support ships including a battleship, and a vessel they're calling an 'Aircraft Carrier'. They already decimated an entire Imperial Fleet including the _Leviathan_ dreadnought, and they managed to fight off the Hawk Legion and Maximilian's Prototype Super Tank. The Imperials… they never stood a chance."

Aalina just looked at Eleanor with a shocked look before putting the paper down, and picking up a photo of one of the aircraft, a Stuka, if she remembered right, coming out of a steep dive, an Imperial Cruiser, just below it, exploding to pieces.

"That's an understatement. They were literally annihilated..." she said lowly, before sighing, "And also, it appears they wish to stick with us, than being assigned to the Regular Army."

"It seems Commander Stahl was… vocal about his disapproval of the higher ups in the Regular Army." Eleanor said, "But in the end, this actually works out incredibly well for us… we can at least have some comfort in knowing the Regulars won't be able to exploit their technology without your permission… considering how easily they destroyed an Imperial Dreadnought and Super-Tank, I doubt even your brother would be foolish enough to try and piss them off."

Aalina could only chuckle bitterly at that, "True, very true." she said, "Though I wish he had more of a spine like my father had. That act he pulled back in Kloden should've gotten him a court martial and executed," she then placed her hand on the hilt of her sheathed saber, "And I would've been the one to carry out that sentence myself. Personally,"

"Pray he and their Ground Forces commander don't meet." Eleanor said, looking through the report. "From what I've heard, this is the kind of man who doesn't put up with people like him… "

Aalina grinned at that, a grin that Eleanor knew all too well.

"I think I'm going to like working with this...what's his name?" she asked.

"His rank is General Field Marshal, and his name is Wagner von Wolfe," Eleanor said, "According to what the report says, he's from a military family, a skilled marksmen, a well accomplished horseman, a genius at strategy and tactics, and is someone who leads by example by leading at the front,"

"I'll have to meet him then..." Aalina said nodding, "Is he still at the naval base?"

"He and Admiral Joseph Hoffman left the base, and are being escorted to Randgriz as we speak with their own elite troops." Eleanor said, "They should be there within a day assuming all goes well."

Aalina nodded as she looked outside, as the sun set in the West.

"Things are about to change, Eleanor," she said, as a smirk formed on her lips, "Whether good or bad, we don't know. But I know one thing for sure...once word of this gets back to the Empire, the Emperor himself will be crapping his majestic pants."

Eleanor smiled as she nodded "Yes..." she said, "Finally… we have an advantage that no other nation has yet… thanks to our new allies… we control the skies."

* * *

 **Meanwhile - Kloden Wildwood Road**

* * *

Having driven back the Imperial Forces from Barious, the Gallian forces of Squads 1, 5, and 7, as well as the German forces began their return to the Gallian capital of Randgriz. In order to save them some time, they decided to take a shortcut through the Kloden Wildwood. Currently, the small Battalion of troops had stopped along the road, as scouts were sent out ahead to ensure there were no Imperial forces ahead of them.

"I gotta admit, this is a damn impressive Tank you built here, Isara-san." Jaden said, as he looked at the interior of the Edelweiss. "Rivals German Panzers, and is leagues ahead of anything the Japanese Army has."

Isara blushed slightly at the praise "Its… its not all mine," she admitted, "I just worked on keeping her up to date… my father and Welk's did most of the work."

"I would of loved to meet e'm too!" Jaden said grinning, "Ah, always interesting meeting engineers from new countries, so many ideas to be shared… I remember the first time I came to Germany, I finally got to see genuine German Engineering at its finest, and make it even better with a Japanese touch."

Isara could only smile at the enthusiasm of the pilot, of course, she was the same way, considering she saw these aircraft she saw in action the other day.

"I hope your superior doesn't mind if I can take a look at those aircraft of yours," she said with a hopeful tone, "The tanks are extraordinary, but those have gotten my attention the most,"

Jaden chuckled a bit "I don't doubt that," he said. "Once we get back to the _Graf Zeppelin_ , I'd be glad to show you around the carrier, and our aircraft." He then sighed "Gonna take me a while to make me a new plane though… "

Isara blinked at that, before smiling.

"If you want, I can help you," she said, causing Jaden blink, "I'm a quick learner, so I'll be able to understand the workings of your aircraft in no time. Not to mention I read about the Amerians innovations in airplanes… but, they haven't built anything like what you've got yet though."

"Heh, remind me to hand you a few books on aircraft then." Jaden said smiling, "There's a lot you'll need to learn if we're gonna be building and maintaining the 109's and Stuka's… not to mention any more aircraft we build later on."

As Isara and Jaden continued to chat, Welkin, Largo, Garen and Alicia were near the head of the column of vehicles. "I'm worried boss..." Largo said as he eyed the woods. "The Scouts were due back a long time ago… haven't heard a thing."

"You're right..." said Welkin as he glanced at the woods. He had a feeling that the Scouts might've been silently killed by Imperial snipers.

"It might be possible that your scouts were killed by the Imps," said Garen as he came over, his eyes narrowed as he looked around the woods.

"We should look for them," Alicia said, looking at Welkin. "The Imperials might be closer than we think."

Welkin nodded "Right," he said as the two of them began to walk down the road, as they walked up towards a ledge.

Suddenly, there was a distant 'thump' in the distance, causing Largo and several others to glance up, "Hm?"

A few moments later, there was a loud shrieking sound before a motor round hit the area where Welkin and Alicia were walking past, the shockwave of the blast sending the two flying over the ledge.

"WELKS!" Isara shouted as she hopped off of the Edelweiss, and was about to run over to where they were, but Largo grabbed her.

"Don't!" the Lancer shouted as he held her back, "If you get hit who's gonna drive the tank!?"

Isara didn't say anything, as she looked away. Garen could see the faint traces of tears in her eyes and turned toward the column as they got up and readied their weapons.

"Siegfried! Bretz! Lenard! Maas!" he shouted and four men ran forward. "I need you four to find Squad 7's Commander, bring e'm back! Everyone else, get this column moving! Schnell! Schnell!"

The four Germans nodded as they headed out, as the remaining Germans and Gallians mounted their vehicles and gunned it out of the area, as Imperial Troops began moving on their position.

* * *

 **Later - With Welkin**

* * *

Welkin grunted a bit, as he finally regained consciousness. "Where..." he muttered, as he opened his eyes and glanced at his surroundings. He was still in the Kloden Wildwood, that was for sure. And the familiar stinging across his body and the still lingering ring in his ears told him he was still alive at could feel the grip of his Gallian-4 Rifle, which he pulled up, as it still looked to be intact, thankfully.

He glanced to the side, and his eyes widened as he saw Alicia on the ground facedown. "Alicia!" He shouted, moving to her side as he flipped her over. Thankfully it didn't look like she was wounded aside from a few scrapes. "Alicia...wake up!"

"Nn… Nngh..." Alicia muttered, before her eyes finally opened. "Welkin… wha…?"

Welkin smiled "Oh, good." He said, sighing in relief. "Your Awake. You alright?"

"I… I think so..." She said as she sat up with Welkin's help. "But, where are we? Are the others alright?"

"I don't know..." Welkin said shaking his head, "That Motor round went off, everything went black… we must of gotten separated from the others when we got flung by the blast. The other's must've left by now."

"Oh..." Alicia said. "Well… they should be alright… right?"

"I think so," Welkin said, before he glanced around, and found Alicia's own Gallian-4, and picked it up. "Alicia, there are probably still Camped up there, its only a matter of time before they spot us here. We got to get moving, you think you can walk?"

Alicia nodded as she took her Rifle from Welkin, "Yeah I think I'll be fine." She said, She began to stand up, but pain immediately shot through her right leg causing her to yelp out for a second. "Augh! Scratch that… I think my ankle's been sprained… its not to bad to walk on though..." As she said this, she let her leg down again, hissing in pain, but used her Rifle to balance her.

Welkin sighed "Sorry, but until we can get a medical kit or something, you're gonna need to tough it out for now." He said, "Let's try to sneak out of here before we're spotted."

Before they can begin moving...

"Pst! Over here!"

The two Gallians turned and spotted one of their new allies, wearing a sort of camouflage overshirt over his uniform tunic, and the same with his helmet, but also a bunch of dead long grass and tree branches strapped to his helmet via an elastic band, they could see the weapon in his hand being a scoped rifle, making him a sniper.

"Who are you?" Welkin asked, "Are you with the Germans?"

"Yes, but keep it down!" The man whispered, as he approached them. "Names Raoul Siegfried, Captain had me and three others stay behind to look for ya. I'll take you to the rest of my team, but we need to keep it quiet! There's at least a company's worth of Imps in these woods!"

Welkin and Alicia nodded at that.

"Alright, lead on," Welkin said, "We'll follow you"

Raoul nodded and the three began their trek through the woods to regroup with said snipers team.

* * *

With said team, two of them had just taken out two Imperial sentries along the path and hidden them in the bushes. One of them was wearing a M43 Tunic, with M37 trousers, ankle boots with gaiter leggings fastened around his lower shins, and a M42 helmet on his head. The one next to him who helped deal with the second sentry was wearing a M36 tunic with a Splinter B camo smock over it, same trousers, and wearing jackboots. He was not wearing a helmet, instead he was wearing a field cap. The one with the helmet was holding an StG 44 sturmgewehr, while the one with the cap was holding an American M1 Garand.

"You think Raoul found them by now?," said the one with the cap.

"I'd hope so..." the one wearing the helmet said, as he began confiscating the weapons of the dead Imperial sentries and their ammo. "Its pretty dark out… but if anyone can find them in this kind of night, its him."

"You're right about that Max," said a voice and out from the shadow of the tree was the final member of their team, he was wearing an M40 tunic with M41 trousers, and also wearing jackboots and an M35 helmet. He wearing a rucksack on his back, and the only indication of him having a weapon was the pistol holster on his belt. On his right was the signature Red Cross on white background arm band identifying him as an Medic. "Raoul is like a Barn Owl, if what he did at Stalingrad was any indication."

"He took out a whole Russian Company on his own… I still can't believe he pulled that off... " Maxim Bretz said shaking his head. "Anyways, you find a place where we can hide out, Maas?"

Joachim Maas nodded "Yeah, there's an old log cabin not far from here, its abandoned." He said, "Once we find Squad 7's Commander, it'll be a good place to wait the night out, in the morning we can head for wherever the others are."

Maxim nodded at that. "Good, now we just need to find them, or Raoul's already found them and is bringing them back toward us." he said.

"You're right about that, Max,"

The three jumped in surprise, but managed not to shout, as their sniper came back.

"Christ, Raoul, you scared the scheisse out of us!" the cap wearing German, Kasper Lenard, whispered harshly. Raoul just smirked at them.

"Its what I do." He said, as following after him were the two MIA Gallians. "I found e'm, now let's get moving before anymore Imps show up. Alicia's got a sprained leg, Joachim once we get to this cabin ya found, take care of it would ya?"

Joachim nodded and soon the group was off, with the medic leading the way showing them the best route. They managed to slip past a couple patrols, until they finally managed arrived at the cabin and quickly went inside. Maxim and Karl used their flashlights to look around.

"Not much, but it's home for now," said Max as he placed his assault against the wall, took his pack off and placed it next to the gun, and sat down with his back against it. Joachim then headed over and pulled up a chair.

"Alright, let's take a look at that ankle," he said, and Alicia, with Welkin helping, hobbled over to the chair.

"Thanks for this," Welkin said as Alicia sat down in the chair. "Nice to know we aren't alone out here."

"We don't leave comrades behind," Kasper Lenard said, as he leaned against the wall. "Considering what we've been told about the Imperials, we'd rather not risk any of you becoming POW's."

The two nodded in thanks, as Joachim examined Alicia's ankle.

"Just a minor sprain," the medic said, "You should be fine in the morning, in the meantime, you just need to rest,"

Alicia nodded in thanks.

"Thank you," she said, as Joachim gently put her boot back on.

"Well, since we're going to be here for a while...," said Kasper as he removed his bread bag from his belt. The group could see it was bulging meaning it had a lot of stuff in it.

"What the heck do you have in that, Kasper?" asked Raoul, while Kasper smirked.

"See for yourself," he said as he pulled out the contents. "Some French rolls I got while we were in France… and some British corn beef. From one of those Brit food drops probably for the resistance, missed its mark so… more for us."

The German troops either chuckled or shook their heads in amusement, while Alicia and Welkin blinked at the words 'French' and 'British', but didn't say anything as their stomachs growled and they both blushed in embarrassment.

"It appears someone else is hungry as well," said Max as he lightly laughed.

"Good thing I have plenty for everybody," said Kasper, as he chuckled, and the groups got ready to eat.

* * *

 **Meanwhile Back with the column**

* * *

"We'll wait till tomorrow," Garen said as he looked at his men and the Gallians, "If they're not back by noon...we're leaving,"

Largo sighed but nodded "We understand," he said, "Knowing nature-boy he and Alicia should be fine if they got out of that explosion in one piece. We can't stay here for long if the Imps find us..."

"I think they may already know were here," A voice said, as Noce Wordsworth walked up towards them. "Me and some of the scouts from Five just got back. There are a lot of Imperials in the forest here… not just scouts, but Shocktroopers and Lancers too… and we sure as hell heard Tanks as well, but didn't see them."

"Damn..." Garen muttered, "Any sign of their base camp?"

"Nothing yet," Noce said shaking his head, "But wherever it is, they've got a LOT of troops there. I think the Imps are pissed at how we kicked their asses at Barious."

Garen sighed "Well, we won't be moving till morning..." he said, "Without any air support, we're gonna have to do this the old fashion way… we'll dig in as much as we can, and work and sleep in shifts. I want guards and scouts keeping an eye on the surrounding area. In the Morning, we're gonna have to fight our way out of these forests."

Everyone nodded as Garen called an end to the meeting.

Meanwhile with Isara, she was sitting in the Edelweiss, worry for her brother clearly shown on her face.

"Penny for your thoughts," she looked up and saw Jaden giving her a concerned look.

"I'm… I'm just worried..." Isara said shaking her head. "I know Welks is probably alright, but..."

"Hey, if he's everything you told me, he and Alicia should be alright." Jaden said with a smile, "There's not much we can do for them now, aside from making sure your Tank is still functioning at 110%."

Isara quirked an eyebrow at that, "110%?" she asked, and Jaden chuckled.

"In my book, 100 is just not enough," he said, causing the Darcsen woman to giggle. "Try to get some rest Isara. We've got a big day tomorrow,"

Isara nodded as she laid back to try to get some sleep. Sighing, Jaden lied up against the Edelweiss's turret, looking up at the sky watching the moon and the stars, as he began to hum a he was humming the tune, all the German soldiers, with the Gallian Militia members were helping each other set up defenses, or were sharing each others rations. Garen himself, was looking through his binoculars into the woods, all the while listening to the wasn't the only one, as Rosie heard the tune as well. She had to admit, it was nice to hear, considering her job as a singer.

 **BGM: 'Asu he no Kizuna (Himeka)** '

" _Kagayaku hoshitachi eien wo terashite yo, "_

 _" Futashika na sekai sono subete yurusu you ni."_

 _" Ikutsu negai wo tsumuidara kanau hi ga kuru?"_

 _" Todoke haruka sora e asu e no KIZUNA,"_

 _" Te no hira ni mebaeta yuruganu hikari wa."_

 _" Watashi no kibou no akashi to shinjite iru,"_

 _" I'll pray forever."_

The sound of soft snoring caused Jaden to blink as he glanced down, and saw Isara was fast asleep. Chuckling, he pulled up a blanket from the Edelweiss and put it over the Darcsen. 'Reminds me so much of Amy in a way... ' he thought, 'Hari is a bit weird, but not in a bad way… kinda make her look cute-' He blinked as he mentally slapped himself. 'whohoho, Jaden. Where was THAT thought about to go?'

He sighed as he decided to get some sleep as well.

* * *

 _ **Two Hours Later**_

* * *

As the others slept inside the Cabin, Raoul stood watch next to the window, his rifle at the ready as he maintained a watchful eye on the surroundings. It was still awfully dark outside, making visibility somewhat difficult, but Raoul had to deal with darker back in Europe.

A sudden snap of a twig set him on guard as he readied his rifle. This woke up Maxim, as he groggily woke up to the sound of his comrade's gun.

Before Maxim could speak another snap was heard, making him fully wake up as well, grabbing his StG-44 and waking up Karl.

"Ugh, wha...?" Kasper said groggily, only for Maxim to shush him, and whispered for him to listen.

Kasper soon heard the snapping twigs as well and was on full alert and began to wake up the others."What do we got?" Maxie whispered as he crawled over to where Raoul stood.

"Someone's definitely out there..." Raoul said, his grip on his Gewehr 98 Rifle tightening. "They're not being very stealthy about it though..." His eyes narrowed before he pulled back the bolt of his rifle, loading in a fresh round. "Company - three contacts… two of them are carrying the other, must be wounded."

As the two Gallians began to wake up, those inside the cabin could hear voices from outside. "Come on Fritz, a little more..." A female voice said.

"You… you should've just left me..." a weaker male voice said, followed by some harsh coughing. "Shit..."

"We aren't leaving you Fritz!" A third voice, also male said. "We're leaving these guys together. They capture you, I don't wanna think about what they do to deserters."

"Come on," the female voice said, as their voices sounded as if they were right out the door. "Cabin looks abandoned… we'll patch you up once we're inside."

The Door shook for a moment as they heard a sigh "Damn, its locked..." The second male voice said.

"Dimitri, you're obviously not knocking hard enough." The female voice said, before a few moments later the door flung open as a woman wearing the standard Imperial trooper uniform was standing there armed with a ZM MP 3B Submachine Gun, and to her side were two men, one with a ZM Kar 2(g) Rifle, and the other - who was limping on the other's shoulder, had a ZM MP 2 SMG.

"See?" The woman said, "You just gotta-" however at that moment they realized that the cabin was not as abandoned as they originally thought. "OH FUCK!" She shouted as she and 'Dimitri' raised their guns. "HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!"

The reaction she got was five guns pointing right back at her.

"YOU FIRST FRAULEIN!" shouted Max as he aimed his StG 44 right at the trio. "I GOT THIRTY ROUNDS WITH YOUR NAME ON THEM!"

The others were quiet as they aimed their weapons at them, while Joachim was kneeling beside the table. His hand on his pistol holster, but not drawing it.

"I'VE GOT TWENTY WITH YOURS BASTARD!" The woman shouted, keeping her aim steady.

"PUT THEM DOWN NOW!" Dimitri shouted.

"YOU PUT THEM DOWN!" What ensued was what felt like a minute-long shouting match between the Germans and the Imperials, neither of them willing to drop their guns, yet at the same time neither of them opening fire on one another.

 _'Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!_ ' was what was on Kasper mind, _'How the hell do we get out of this one!?_ '

However Joachim suddenly stood up, and started carefully walking toward the Imperials.

"Joachim? What are you doing you dummkopf!?" Maxim cursed out as the Medic continued walking toward them.

"Freeze!" Dimitri shouted, pointing his rifle at Joachim, who didn't stop.

"Your friend is wounded," Joachim said, "How about we all put our guns down, so we can all walk out of this in one piece?"

"Joachim..." Raoul said warningly, "...be careful, we don't know if these three are part of those so-called Darcsen Hunters we've been hearing about,"

Alicia, while keeping her rifle trained on the Imperials, saw the woman glare at the sniper when he said that. "We are NOT Hunters!" She spat out, "Those sick fuckers are half the reason we left!"

The Germans and Gallians were surprised by this outburst as Joachim finally got within arms reach of the wounded Imperial Trooper. Dimitri saw the medic next to his friend and kept the rifle trained on him but his finger was off the trigger.

"What do you mean half the reason?" Welkin asked, "I thought the entire Imperial Army was die-hard loyal to the Emperor,"

The woman scoffed "Please," she said, "Most Imperials only fight for the Empire to gain some education and work."

She glanced at Fritz for a moment, before back at the Germans and Gallians before she sighed. "Alright... on the count of three… we all put our weapons down, and your medic there takes care of Fritz. Got it?"

The German troops, along with Welkin and Alicia both nodded as the woman began to count.

"1...2...3" with that everyone put their weapons down and Joachim approached Fritz and began to look him over.

"We need to take this armor off, so I can get a better look," Joachim said, and the woman nodded as she helped the Medic remove the breastplate, helping the wounded Fritz to the table. Once he was on the table and the armor off, Joachim winced slightly, as he saw Fritz's back had several bullet wounds, and a nasty gash along his side.

"Not good..." he muttered as he pulled out his med kit. "He's lost a lot of blood, we need to stop the bleeding, now!"

With that, Joachim headed back to his rucksack and brought out his first aid and a few rolls of bandages. He then turned to the female Imperial soldier, who was holding the wound to keep him from bleeding out.

"Hey you! What's your name?" he said urgently.

"It's Eva..." she said with a neutral tone.

"Eva, I need you too keep these bandages on him," Joachim said as he pulled the bandages, "Their laced with an Antihemorrhagic agent that should help stop the bleeding." He then glanced at the Gallians "If either of you have some of that Ragnaid stuff I've been hearing about, now would be a good time to pull some of it out!"

Welkin and Alicia nodded at that, as they pulled out their own Ragnaid canisters which were like light bulbs glowing a vibrant blue.

"Here..." said Welkin, as he and Alicia handed him the medical devices, "Just twist the knob on the bottom and put it over him,"

Joachim nodded and took the capsules, and followed their instructions.

"You said that the Darcsen Hunters were half the reason you deserted..." said Raoul as Dimitri looked at him, "...What was the other reason?"

Dimitri sighed as he leaned against the wall of the cabin "As most of you probably know, the Empire is that of those born into nobility." He said, "Everything is determined by birth in the Imperial Alliance, the only way to climb the social ladder is by joining the military if you are capable. Most people who enlist are from slums, poor farms, or part of families that can barely support themselves. Me and Fritz enlisted… thinking that we had a brighter future if we climbed higher up."

"But… that all ended when the war began." He continued, growling a bit. "We use to be deployed on the Federation Front… most of the commanders would use us fresh recruits as cannon fodder, weakening enemy defenses so their 'Elite' shocktroopers could mop up after we did all the work, killing so many people… seeing so many of our friends get butchered with hardly anything to show for it!"

"We hoped things might change… if we just tried to get better." He said sighing, "Eva thought… if we made something of an example, others could change… make things better… but that all changed when we met our new CO a few weeks ago."

"Who was…?" Maxi asked.

"Korinthos... the Impaler." Eva muttered out.

Both the Gallians and the Germans both blinked at that, as the former felt a little uneasy at that.

" 'Impaler'?" said Karl, "I don't want to know what he impales..."

"Let me give you an abridged version then," said Dimitri, "He impales everything...animals AND Human beings."

"He doesn't care if their Darcsen or not… " Eva said, "He just uses it as an excuse to hunt humans for sport… we saw what he did to a hidden Darcsen village near the southern Feddie border… and afterwards we saw his… trophy room."

"T-Trophy room?" Alicia sputtered out, her face paling at the mental image she was imagining.

"Yeah...it included every animal he hunted before he enlisted in the army," Dimitri said, and then gulped, "...to full scale humans,"

That did it for Kasper as he moved to a corner and retched out what he ate.

"Mother Nature have mercy," said Raoul as he tightly gripped his rifle.

"Now you see why we left." Dimitri said, "I admit… I was never fond of Darcsens… but no human being deserves to be stuffed like a fucking animal! He doesn't even care how old they are when he hunts and stuffed them… adults, elderly, teenagers… kids, doesn't matter to him."

Everyone of the Gallian and Germans all had pale faces as they're told this.

"Why the hell would your Empire recruit someone like... that!?" Welkin said, his face showing a mixture of disgust and horror.

"Because he's the descendant of the original founder of the Darcsen Hunters… and his family is related to the Imperial line." Eva said, as Joachim finally finished with the bandages, allowing her to take her arms off of Fritz's wounds. "So long as he only officially hunts Darcsens… it's fair game in Imperial Law. The Public doesn't really know what goes down in the military afterall… "

Raoul could only narrow his eyes in disgust and hate. A monster like Korinthos doesn't deserve to be a soldier, especially if said 'Impaler' has no compassion for life.

'I swear...,' he thought in his head, 'I swear if I ever see this...demon. I will hunt him down and show him why I'm called the Barn Owl!'

Joachim then helped Fritz lay down on a makeshift bed they made with one of the Imperials packs acting as a pillow, along with a blanket draped over him.

"I need to ask... " said Raoul, "...Is there anyone in your former military that is like or even worse than Korinthos?"

"Most of the Nobles… a lot of the higher ups in the military with very few exceptions." Dimitri said, "They consider anyone who's not Imperial or a Darcsen a second-class citizen. Even regular citizens aren't spared from the bullshit the higher ups do."

Raoul nodded at that, "Then we should get you to our commanders immediately," he said, "This information you have could help us,"

"We could care less about the Empire at this point," said Dimitri, "Especially with those damn Yggdists running a lot of things."

Before the Germans could ask about that, Joachim stood up as he let out a tired sigh.

"Alright… I've managed to stop the bleeding, and patched him up as best I could." He said, "He got shot up pretty badly… he's stable for now, but if he's gonna survive this he needs to get to a hospital or something."

The two former Imperial troops said their thanks before they sat on either side of their comrade. Meanwhile the mixed group began to talk about the situation.

"This is really serious," said Raoul, "If a person like this Korinthos are involved in this invasion, it's no doubt there are others committing war crimes,"

"Not surprising," Alicia said, "The Imperial Alliance has always had it out against Darcsens, more so than any other nation…"

"Yeah..." Welkin said, "And it's not that much better in the AF from what I've heard… they aren't hunted, but the AF look down on Darcsen's just as much as the aristocrat's in the Gallian military and government do."

"Bastards...," muttered Max, "And I thought our situation in Germany was bad,"

The Gallians both blinked at that, while Kasper elbowed Max in the ribs.

"Your situation?" Alicia asked, and Raoul quickly spoke up.

"Before we left Germany, it was under the rule of a political party known as the Nazis," the sniper said, "At first, they did things that were popular like restoring our military power and reclaiming land that was lost after a previous war. However, our _Glorious Fuhrer_ wanted more, and so he started to invade country after country...,"

"There were not many… Darcsen's in our country," Max said, "In fact, we never even heard of Darcsen's till we arrived at Gallia… But the Nazi's found its own scapegoats to justify their actions… the handicapped, disabled, Jewish, gypsy… they were all rounded up in camps where they were either worked to death, or just flat out executed for just… being themselves."

"They even went after political dissidents who didn't agree with them," said Joachim, "Military or civilian, it didn't matter. But then our commanding general, Wagner won Wolfe, decided to do the unthinkable, defect."

The Gallians and the Imperials all gaped at that.

"You defected?" Eva asked, "But… how?"

"General Wolfe had been planning the desertion with Admiral Hoffman for years," Maxi said, "Getting the families of all their men together secretly, and preparing the proper transport… and it couldn't of been at a better time, 'cause then the Imperials came knocking at our doors. As they conquered the nation… we left."

"We don't know what happened to our nation anymore… if it even still exists." Kasper said. "If they removed the Nazi's from power, it'd be an improvement… we're still worried about the rest of our people though… we hope their still alright. Maybe one of these days we can go back… but for now, we have much bigger issues."

The others nodded at that, until they started to hear Fritz start to groan painfully.

"Fritz! Are you alright?" Dimitri said in worry for his friend, along with Eva, who grabbed his hand trying to comfort him.

"Like… shit..." Fritz muttered, "What… where are..."

"We're safe Fritz," Eva said, "You just try to get some rest… "

"Yeah...that's exactly...what I need-," he said as he began coughing up blood.

"Fritz!" Dimitri said, as Fritz opened his eyes again after his coughing fit.

"Listen to me, you two," he began to say, "I'm finished...you need to go on without me."

The two other deserters eyes widened at that statement.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Eva said, "You're staying with us!"

"No… no I ain't..." Fritz said, shaking his head. "I know… my limits… I can't-" he coughed up more blood, as Joachim tried to help him, but Fritz raised his hand. "Please… if… if you two… ever go back to… the Empire..." he reached for something in his pocket, pulling out what looked like a pocketwatch. "Give… give this… back… to my… fam..."

He didn't finish as his hand fell limp and the watch slid out of his hand. Eva and Dimitri's eyes only widened in horrified realization as their companion died right in front of them. Welkin, Alicia, and the German troops bowed their heads in sadness as they watched another human life be snuffed out.

"Fritz?..." Dimitri began as he looked at the face of his now dead friend. "Fritz...c-come on! Don't… don't you dare..."

But Fritz didn't say anything as he just laid there.

"Fritz!"

* * *

 _ **Morning**_

* * *

It was morning as a squad of Imperial Soldiers appeared at the cabin. But fortunately, there was no one there, except...

"Sir! Over here!" shouted an soldier, and a man wearing a black officer's uniform and a cape appeared, "We found a grave," the soldier said, and the officer knelt down in front of a grave marker marked by a helmet placed on top of a SMG planted into the ground, and a set of dog tags tied around the trigger guard.

The officer glanced at the tags, which read 'Mikhail Fritz Weber' along with a rank and service number. "So… Fritz has fallen..." the officer muttered with a sad sigh.

"Sir, we've got eight sets of footprints going in this direction," one of the soldiers said, pointing towards a path of footprints heading to the east. "Two sets appear to be Gallian, and two more are Imperial… I've never seen the design of the third set however. If we head out now, we can still catch them."

The Commander seemed to contemplate that possibility, however he stood up, shaking his head. "No, there is no need." He said, "Even though Fritz and his comrades were deserters… whoever they joined up with had the decency to bury a fallen comrade, and paid respect. And also didn't execute Eva or Dimitri on the spot…"

The officer turned to the Imperial soldiers "We shall list Fritz as KIA, and his comrades MIA, presumed KIA." he said, "We do not want word of desertion to spread… as far as the rest of the Empire is concerned, they died fighting for our cause. Prepare to return to base."

"Yes sir, Major Adalwulf." The soldiers said as they saluted, before turning around and began heading back to base. Major Claus Adalwulf looked at the grave for a moment, and once the soldiers were gone, he saluted Fritz's grave. "I hope your friends survive, Fritz..." He said, "It's the least they deserve… and what you should have deserved..." with that final statement, the Major turned heel and proceeded to meet up with the rest of his troop.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - German/Gallian Camp**_

* * *

"Alright people! Rise and Shine!" Captain Garen Raimond shouted as he moved through the camp, as the Gallian Militiamen and German Soldiers began waking up in the morning. "Its a brand new day, and we've got Imps between us and Randgriz! So move it or lose it ladies and gentlemen!"

"Hey! Cap!" Largo shouted as he and Rosie approached him. "Have you seen Isara, or that kid she was with?"

"Last I saw e'm last night, they were on that tank of yours." Garen said, pointing to where the Edelweiss sat.

Largo sighed as he and Rosie along with the Captain approached the tank, climbing up on top of it. "Alright you two, rise and-" Largo began to say, before he blinked at the sight on top of the tank. It seemed both Isara and Jaden had fallen asleep on the back of the Edelweiss, and somehow, at some point in their slumber they got… closer together, practically sharing the same blanket, sleeping side by side, resting their heads on the turret of the tank.

"What the-?" Rosie said as she blinked at the sight, while Garen also blinked when he saw the scene.

"Well now...I was not expecting this," he said, and Largo could only shake his head.

"It's nothing new to me," he said, "I knew a buddy back in the last war. I saw him and another girl in the same position,"

Before Garen or Rosie could ask more about that, Jaden yawned as his eyes blinked, just as Isara was beginning to wake up as well. As the two woke up, they both turned their heads towards one another, their faces inches apart. Both of them blinked sheepishly…

"Eep!"

"Gomi!"

Thump

...both teenagers had blushed bright red, shouted in surprised, and each of them rolled away from one another… only to fall clean off of the tank on either side.

"Gomen'nasai! Gomen'nasai!" Jaden shouted in a language neither Largo nor Rosie were familiar with, "Watashi wa tai o imi suru monode wa arimasendeshita-" Jaden then realized he was speaking Japanese in panic, mentally berating himself before going back to english. "Sorry! Sorry!" He said, rounding around the tank to Isara's side. "I-I-I-I d-didn't know how c-close we were last night! S-Sorry!"

Isara was still blushing as she was helped raised to her feet.

"N-No, I should be the one who's sorry..." she said, and before Jaden could counter they heard chuckling and looked and to their horror, the whole camp - Gallian and German - was watching them.

"Aww, so cute..."

"Young Love..."

"Geez, even the Darcsen's got someone..."

This of course didn't help anything, as if anything their respective blushes tripled in intensity. "S-SHUT UP!" Both of them shouted at once, causing the two to glance at each other in surprise, before quickly glancing away, only causing the soldiers to laugh more.

Then a sudden flash was seen and the two turned and saw one of the Germans with a camera in his hand.

"Perfect..." he said, however this caused the two to start going after him.

"GIVE ME THAT CAMERA!" they both shouted and the photographer made a break for it.

As the rest of the camp laughed, Largo and Rosie sighed. "Things… are not gonna be normal with those two together… " Largo said, shaking his head.

"Well, it would certainly bring a source of humor among the troops." Garen said as he smirked as the IJN airmen and the Darcsen Tanker finally tackled the war photographer to the ground and tried to wrestle the camera from him.

However then Garen a series of thumps in the distance, causing him to snap in their direction.

"ARTILLERY!" Not a moment after he shouted that, just outside the camp the ground seemed to explode as a hail of artillery and mortar fire impacted the area surrounding the camp. Any joking moods the Germans or Gallians were in quickly vanished as they immediately began spreading out and manning the vehicles.

"Spread out, don't bunch up!" Garen shouted, as he ran towards one of the Tigers. "Get the defenses ready! A ground attack will follow up soon after! Schnell! Schnell!"

The troops obeyed, as they got everything ready, with machine gunners manning their posts, mortar teams readying their weapons, infantry manned their positions, and tankers heading to their vehicles.

The Gallian militia members followed the Germans example, and done the same.

Garen reached one of the tanks and climbed on, and began talking to the tank commander. "Get us moving! We're sitting ducks here!" He shouted as he put a set of headphones on. "All units: find out where that fire is coming from!"

The King Tiger began to move, along with the other tanks in order to avoid being hit.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

* * *

Welkin, Alicia, the German team, along with the Imperial deserters were all making their way toward the sound of the explosions, knowing that's where their comrades are.

"Judging by the sounds of those explosions, they must be in big trouble," said Alicia, and Welkin nodded.

"Sounds like the mortars and artillery are opening up… meaning a ground attack will soon begin." He said, as they ran forward. "Hopefully we can get there before-" however Welkin was cut off as they cleared the forest, and the team was soon confronted by a sizable ravine - the explosions clearly coming from the opposite side of the ravine, but their only way of getting across it seemed - a wooden bridge - had already been taken out.

"Oh son of a bitch..." Dimitri muttered.

"How are we gonna get across that?" said Eva as she looked at the scene in front of them as Welkin looked around and his eyes immediately spotted a path that led down into the ravine, a log that acts as a natural bridge across the river, and spotted another path on the other ledge, however the problem was there was Imperial troops there guarding it.

"I see a path that leads down into the ravine," Welkin said, "When we get down we'll cross that log to get to the other side of the river, and then walk up the path going up,"

"Easy enough...but what about those Imps?" said Max.

"You leave them to me," Raoul said as he loaded a round into this rifle, "You just focus on getting across. I'll catch up with you when I'm done."

Welkin and Max nodded "Alright, but be-" he began to say, before there was a loud THUD coming from the Imperial Camp, as the team all saw a motor round launch from the camp.

"Huh… so that's where they set up the motor battery..." Max said, as he slowly began to smirk. "Say, Dimitri, Eva… either of you know how to use one of those things?"

The two former Imperials all blinked at that, but then got the gist of what he meant.

"Yeah, we have. Why?" said Dimitri, while Max's smirk just grew.

"Cause, we're going to do a tactic I like to do: steal the enemies weapons and use them against them," he said, and the two deserters' eyes widened before they shared his smirk.

"I think we get what you mean." Eva said. "Once we clear the camp, all we need is good targeting and coordinates."

"Well Raoul, you know-" Maxi began to say, only to find their sniper missing. He sighed "Damnit… I hate it when he does that..."

"He reminds us of our own sniper, Marina," Alicia said with a grin, "Only he's not as emotionless."

"And how good of a sniper is this Marina?" asked Kasper.

"VERY good," said Welkin, "At Vasel bridge she knocked off five officers and over a few dozen other Imperials… took out a few Imp tanks with some Ragnite fuel nearby..."

"Wait, that was her?" said Eva. "The Imperials keep talking about ghost stories about whoever or whatever killed the Lieutenant and his lackeys at Vasel!"

"Yup - that's probably her." Alicia said nodding, "Best Sniper in the Militia… but she's also the biggest lone-wolf in the squad."

"That's true. But I notice she's a big softie for animals, if what I saw when Hans is with her is any indication," Welkin said, causing the Germans and the Imperials to blink.

"Who's Hans?" asked Joachim.

"He's an orphaned flying boar piglet we found near a Imperial Supply Camp. His mother was killed by a stray bullet." Alicia said sadly.

"A... flying… boar… piglet…?" Joachim asked. "Are you telling me you have _flying pigs_ here?!"

"Nonono, they can't fly." Welkin said, "They just have wing-like appendages on their backs… no one's sure why they have them, since no one can prove if they help them adapt to their environment-"

"Welkin - nature later, battle now!" Alicia said, arming her rifle.

"Oh...right," said sheepishly, just as the sound of a shot was heard and one of the Imperials near the log bridge dropped. This caused the other to scatter, and another shot rang out and hit another Imperial in the back making him go flying forward.

With that, the group began down the path as Raoul's skills as a sniper were seen as he picked off another 6 Imperials.

"Damn!" said Dimitri, "He doesn't waste a shot!"

"Doesn't he ever miss?" Eva asked. There was a seventh shot, followed by an enemy sniper from above falling down the ravine screaming past them.

"Nope." Maxi said. "Not once has he missed… at least as long as I've known him."

"However, there was one person he said he never took a shot at," Kasper said, as another shot rang out taking out a stormtrooper, "It was an enemy sniper at a hellhole called Stalingrad, who was causing havoc on our forces. He headed out to get the bastard, and had him in his sights, but for some reason, he didn't take the shot,"

"He didn't?" Alicia asked as they reached the bottom of the ravine. "But… if he was doing so much damage, why didn't he?"

"He never said," Maxi said, "But when he came back to the base, he had this look on his face. Like he was half sick, half pissed,"

The Gallians and former Imperials were still confused by this, but didn't say anything else as they began to cross the log, Raoul's rifle shots still ringing off, and the screams of dying Imperial troops.

"Later that week, he was hit by some shrapnel, and was pulled out of Stalingrad. Lucky for him and for us, cause the entire Army sent in there was wiped out," Kasper finished.

"He's gotta be incredibly lucky..." Alicia said, as there was another shot, followed by yet another scream.

Welkin approached the downed bridge, tugging at the wood. "We should be able to use this as a makeshift ladder to get up the Ravine." He said as he started climbing. "Come on! We may not have much time!"

"Me and Dimitri will head back to the Motor position," Eva said, "Hopefully your friend's done clearing them out."

The group nodded.

"Take care you two," said Alicia.

The two deserters each smiled at that.

"Don't worry about us," said Dimitri, "you just make it back your group,"

The Germans and Gallians nodded as they began to climb the now makeshift ladder while the Deserters went to take control of the motor.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - With the Germans**_

* * *

"Fire!"

Garen's Tiger II fired its 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon, rocking the entire tank as the shot flew forward true, as the cannon penetrated into the armor of an Imperial Fatherland-type Medium Tank, hitting its ammo rack cooking off the munitions as the turret of the tank exploded, going flying into the air.

While the Imperials were able to catch the Gallians and Germans by surprise at the beginning of the battle, it didn't take the long for them to reorganize for a counter-attack and to defend against the attackers. German and Gallian forces took cover by the trees, as their tanks held their position around the camp.

"Ya know, even though most of these guys are using bolt-actions, they're pretty damn good!" said Rosie as she watched a group of the Germans fire their K98k Mauser rifles.

"Just cause it's a bolt action, Rosie, doesn't mean it's useless," said Largo as he readied his Lancaar, "A soldier is just as good as his weapon."

Before Rosie could make a comment a machine gun crew got their MG-42 ready, and opened fire on the advancing Imperial infantry. The sound of the gun caught Rosie by surprise, sounding almost like a buzz saw as it fired. She looked ahead at where the fire was going, just in time to watch a few very unlucky Imp Troopers who were literally shredded by the weapon as if they were cut apart by a Buzz saw.

"Geez!" was the word that Rosie managed to utter out, _'I'm sure glad these guy are on our side. I hate to be the other end of that thing!,'_

She shook her head as she got her mind back on the battle.

"Bring up the Flak gun!" Garen shouted, which caused a few of the Gallians who heard to blink.

 _'Flak gun?_ ' Largo asked, before several Germans wheeled forward a large gun next to some downed trees.

"And you guys said we didn't need to bring one of these." One of the Germans behind the gun said, as ammunition was loaded into it.

"They don't have aircraft!"

"This thing works just as good on infantry as it does on aircraft!" The gunner turned the Flak gun around as it aimed towards advancing Imps. "Light e'm up!"

The 2 cm Flak 30 then opened fire on the Imperials, firing at a rather surprising pace as the Gallians watch in shock as the weapon tore the Imperial troops in half… literally, limbs and heads being reduced to nothing more than bloodied messes. Some of the… weaker stomached Gallians proving incapable of holding their own breakfasts.

"...Okay, now I'm REALLY glad they're on our side!" Rosie said in shock as the combined fear factor of the MG-42s and the Flak 30 sent the surviving Imp troops running scared back to their camp.

"I don't know if I should be happy they brought these things or have them banned!" Largo said, as the screams of the wounded Imperials were heard as they tried to call back their comrades.

However at that same moment the sound of mortar fire was heard once again, as the Gallians and Germans took cover… only for the Mortars to hit the Imperial forces directly, further sending them into disarray.

"What the...?" Garen said as he saw the Mortar rounds land on the Imperials.

"Sorry were late!" a voice shouted and the German and Gallian troops turned and Welkin, Alicia, and the German rescue team, running toward them.

Garen smirked as he saw them. "Nice of you to join the party Lieutenant Gunther!" he said, and Welkin nodded as he saluted. Garen noticed they were one man short. "Where's Siegfried?"

"Right here, Herr Hauptmann,"

Garen jumped in surprise as he turned and saw the said sniper behind him as he saluted him.

"Dammit, Siegfried!" he said, and he put a hand on his chest, "I'm 26 and you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Its what I do." Raoul said shrugging. "We've taken control of the Imp's mortar emplacement, some friends we made are using their own gun against them. We won't have to worry about enemy artillery fire anymore."

Garen grinned at that "Then let's finish the job here!" He said, as he banged the top of his tank. "Send word! All forces are to advance! We're driving the Imps out of these forests!" He then turned to Welkin. "You'd best get back in your tank Mr. Gunther, Squad 7 needs it back in action… plus your sister's been worried sick 'bout you."

Welkin nodded at that, and immediately headed straight for the Edelweiss, with Alicia following right behind him. Garen then turned to the rescue team.

"As for you four. Good work," he said, "I'll inform the Colonel of your mission well done, but right now we have a fight to win."

The four Germans saluted him.

"Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann!" they shouted and immediately went back to their respective unit.

Within 15 minutes the Gallian/German force proceeded toward the Imperial camp, and after managing to surround them and lobbing a few shells, the Imperials surrendered. After the fighting, Raoul and Welkin informed Garen of what happened during the night, and the Imperial defectors that helped them.

"Have someone go find them, and bring them here." Garen said, "Once we've secured these prisoners and your defectors, we're continuing to Randgriz… by now, the General and Admiral have probably already arrived. They're gonna want to hear about what we've encountered."

* * *

 **117Jorn: Once more, a chapter finished! Well… technically it's two chapters. This was gonna be one, but when we go over 26,000 words… ya gotta cut it in two.**

 **Patriot-112: That's true...We hope you enjoyed this chapter. And fear not there is more where this chapter came from!**

 **117Jorn: Until then.**

Patriot-112: Sayonara!


	3. Chapter 2: Talks, Upgrades, Banquets

**AN: You all know like the last two chapters that VC as well as the German military don't belong to us.**

* * *

 _ **Gallia - Randgriz**_

 _ **E.C 1935**_

* * *

Wagner and Hoffman, along with Catharine had arrived at the Gallian capital, along with their escort, which included four R75 sidecar mounted motorcycles, four . 234 "Puma" Armored Cars, and two Panzer III/IV Medium tanks. The little convoy moved down the stone streets of the city, drawing many curious eyes from the residents.

They arrived at the castle and were allowed in to see the Princess, thanks to Catherine managing to request an audience with the said monarch. They stopped the small column in the courtyard and the driver of the staff car they were in got out and opened the door for the two officers.

"According to Catharine, we got lucky that we can meet the Princess today." Hoffman said as he stepped out, soon followed by Wagner. "Maurits von Borg is not present in the Capital today, he's visiting the Atlantic Federation, meeting with the AF Ambassador to prepare for some type of banquet. Meaning we'll be able to meet with her without him being around. If Catharine's info is anything to go by, we do not want to speak with him."

Wagner nodded at that, "Agreed, and we also do not want to speak to this Gassenarl or General Damon," he said, while he rolled his eyes while him, Hoffman, and four armed guards walked up the stairs. "I don't understand how that fool could be a general. Titles and bloodlines be damned!"

"Clearly, Gallia needs to be taught a lesson about how to properly operate a military." Hoffman said. "So far, it seems from the reports that their militia is more effective than their actual armed forces. Catharine gave me the reports on the exploits of the Gallian Militia Squad 7… reclaiming the Vasel Bridge by catching the Imperials off guard by turning their tank into an Amphibious fighting vehicle, reclaiming the Kloden Wildwood… Lieutenant Gunther also aided in defending the town of Bruhl long enough for civilians to evacuate before he was even officially brought into the Militia."

Wagner nodded as well, having read the report himself "Once they return with Captain Garen, we must meet with this Lieutenant Gunther and his men..." he said, as they approached the entrance of the castle. "If we are going to work with the Militia, we will need to know all we can about their members."

"Agreed, I know Mark would like to work with someone who thinks outside the box," he said, and smirked a bit, "Just like what you did at Stalingrad, infiltrating the enemy lines with a battalion and stealing a company's worth of Russian T-34's from under their noses,"

Wagner chuckled at that, "Probably also the smartest thing I ever did, since it impressed Hitler so much he spared me from the firing squad, instead he promoted me." he said.

"One of the few good things he ever did," Hoffman said as they approached the massive double doors, which opened up before them as they were allowed to enter the massive throne room of Castle Randgriz. Its interior was quite elegant, filled with white and light blue walls and golden pillars, and Gallian banners lining up the ceiling. Flanking either side of the room were multiple guards wearing ceremonial uniforms of the Gallian military, armed with equally ceremonial weapons. At the end of the throne room, sitting on the white throne under a sculpture of a white lance was Princess Cordelia Gi Randgriz, wearing the light blue and white apparel, and holding a golden lance-like scepter.

Also present were two other women, both of whom were wearing formal Gallian uniforms as well. Hoffman looked at them, and recognized them from the pictures Catharine had given them. They were Eleanor Varrot and Aalina von Damon, two of the highest ranking members of the Gallian Militia.

With the said women, Aalina was watching as the two high ranking officers and their escorts moved toward them. She recognized Wagner von Wolfe as the Commander of the German ground forces and also spotted Admiral Hoffman.

She carefully watched them as they arrived at the steps to the throne, and stood at attention before giving a bow in respect.

"Your highness, on behalf of myself, my comrade, and of our people, we thank you for this audience," Wagner greeted respectfully.

Cordelia was silent for a moment, before she nodded. "Yes… and it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance… General von Wolfe, Admiral Hoffman." She said, "I must thank you for what you have done for my people in such short time… if the 3rd fleet had fallen, Southern Gallian likely would've been soon to follow."

"We know what it's like to lose a homeland to Tyrants, your highness." Hoffman said, "If we can prevent what happened to our homeland from happening to yours, we will do all that we can to do so."

Cordelia was again silent before speaking, "I was informed that you are refugees," she said, "And that the weapons you brought with you are the key to driving the Imperials out of Gallia,"

The two Germans nodded.

"Yes your highness," said Hoffman, "The combat aircraft, as well as our carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, are prototypes, and have born much fruit, as the third fleet had seen first hand. We are willing to provide the full combat capabilities of our forces to the Gallian Militia... so long as our families are allowed to take refuge here in Gallia, where we hope they will remain safe."

The Princess seemed to blink in surprise at that. "The Militia?" She asked, "Not the Regular Army?"

"With… all due respect your highness… we find your Militia to be far superior than your regular army from the records we have seen." Wagner said. "Your militia has seen far more success than your standard regular Army has since the Imperial Invasion began. In fact, from what we understand, in more than one instance have Gallian Generals - including one General Georg von Damon - have flat out abandoned their own troops to protect their own skins. Meanwhile in stark contrast, your Militia has fought in other seemingly hopeless engagements, and succeeded with minimal losses, all while using sub-par equipment..."

The German General smiled a bit "I can only imagine what they can accomplish if they are given more… superior equipment." He said.

The three Gallian women blinked in surprise at that.

"If, I may ask, General Wolfe," said Aalina, "What sort of equipment do you have? I know you have equipment far beyond the leagues of the Federation and the Empire, but I'm curious of what this weaponry your Ground Forces possess,"

The smile never left Wagner's face as he signaled for one of the escorts, who, along with his comrades, wearing a rubberized trench coat handed the general an attache case, and the General opened it, and then pulled out, what the Gallians saw, what appeared to be photographs.

"These are some of the images of the weaponry we have at our disposal." Wagner informed, as he pulled out some of the images. "The Panzer VI Tiger Tank, equipped with some of the thickest armor, and heaviest armament our nation ever created. The Panzer V Panther, a tank which combines firepower, armor and speed into a single devastating package… our StG 44's and 45's, which combine the accuracy of a rifle, with the rapid fire of an SMG, and the MG-42, a machine gun which fires 1200 rounds per minute, over a range of 1,100 yards… and all of these are just the tip of the iceberg."

Aalina along with the other two women were stunned by this info, as Wagner handed the photographs to Aalina who looked at them and couldn't help but gawk at the Tiger, and it's massive gun, no doubt the same size as the Edelweiss' own gun. She went through the other photos of the other weapons mentioned, including the StG's, and couldn't but think that these weapons will undoubtedly make Gallia a force to be reckoned with.

Cordelia herself, was beside herself as she thought of the ramifications this will bring if she agreed to accept their help.

"Your highness...," Wagner said, bringing her out of her thoughts, "If you're thinking about what we want in return, it's only a safe new home for our people. Nothing more, nothing less,"

This surprised not only the Princess, but the Gallian Militia leaders as well as they looked at them in surprise. "You… would provide for us so much… yet ask for so little in return?" Cordelia asked, sounding stunned. "But… why?"

Wagner sighed a bit at that, as he removed his cap, "Our former leader back in our old homeland was a greedy tyrant who dragged the history of our ancestors through the mud. He was also a rabid racist, who had been murdering innocent people just because they existed. We want to make this as a way of atonement for what that...creature has done," he said.

"Your nation... Gallia, reminds us of home very much." Hoffman said, "Both the good... But also some of the bad. We mean no offence when we say this your highness... But members of your Noble houses and military commanders are... Disturbingly familiar to what we dealt with back home... And the last thing we want to see is your nation to make the same mistakes ours did."

Cordelia thought about what he said. And the more she thought, the more she began to realize on how true it was.

Ever since her parents died, the other noble families with a few exceptions, have been trying to wrest control of the country from her. Two families most of all, were House Gassenarl in South Gallia, and her own Prime Minister's own house, Borg. The only few Noble Houses she felt she could trust were the minor Houses Fuchses, Ahlberg, Vinter, and Norling.

"Your highness..." Hoffman spoke, "I know the burden you have must be nigh unbearable... Becoming the leader of a nation at such a young age, after suffering such a great loss... It may, at first, seem like a good idea to allow people such as the Borgs and Gassenarl to take charge, being older and more experienced...thinking they would know what's best for the nation."

"But... I know people like them." Hoffman said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "They are men who could care less about the well-being of their country, and would just as willingly sell it out to further their own selfish desires, and appease those like them."

"They may be older, have experience..." Hoffman said, "But... sometimes the future of nations don't lie with the old generations... But rather with a younger, simpler, and more honest soul."

Cordelia was taken by that, and couldn't help but think he was right.

"I...I never...," she began to say, but couldn't say anything else.

"Just do what you think is right for your country, your Highness," said Wolfe, "And know, that no matter what the obstacles, there will always be people who will support, love, and fight for you. No matter, what,"

The Militia officers could only look in shock at the wisdom that the German Commanders were giving their Princess. And it was damn good wisdom, which is better than the wisdom that weasel faced Borg gives.

"I... T-thank you..." She said, and for the first time in a very long time - at least as far as the Gallians knew - Cordelia let out a soft warming smile. "If you are willing... To provide so much for us for such little in return... We can't possibly refuse. I promise you I shall find homes for the families of your soldiers, Admiral, General."

The two along with the soldiers snapped to attention, and gave the Princess a bow of respect.

"Your Highness," Wagner said, "You would not regret this decision. Our people will be delighted in this news, and will be happy to start a new life in Gallia,"

Cordelia nodded and turned to Aalina, "Colonel Damon, are there bases which the German soldiers could use?" she asked, and Aalina thought about that until one location clicked for her, and a smirk formed on her face..

"The former Gassenarl castle just a few miles north of here," she said, "It was once the summer home of House Gassenarl until they stopped going there and permanently stayed in South Gallia. It has enough land around it to build a small town or a base, or even some farmland, and the Castle can serve as a perfect HQ. Plus, it's not that far from Militia Headquarters,"

"We will have to investigate the castle ourselves first," Hoffman said before he smirked slightly "Though… it does sound ideal…"

"I can arrange a tour whenever you are able," Aalina said. "Been there a few times, I think it'll be just what you and your people need."

Cordelia nodded "I think it's perfect as well..." she said, before a thought crossed her mind. "Also, General Wolfe, Admiral Hoffman… I would like to extend an invitation to the Royal Banquet being held in a few days… the leaders and ambassadors of multiple nations are arriving to the castle for the event, as are the leaders of Squads 1 and 7… Maurtis wished for me to present to them the Principality Medal of Honor, and while I agree… perhaps we could use this as a chance to formally introduce you and your people to the people of Gallia, and the rest of Europa."

The two German commanders looked at each other, before nodding in agreement.

"That would be a splendid idea, your highness," said Wagner, "I hope you don't mind that we bring some people, like my family over as well."

Cordelia thought about it, before she nodded, "Of course," she said. "I will be sure to let the guards know... And I will keep the other houses... In the dark for now."

* * *

 _ **Later that day**_

* * *

The formation of Gallian and German soldiers and Militiamen had finally returned to the Randgriz military base, HQ of both the Gallian Militia and Military. While the arrival of Squads 1, 5, and 7 were no surprise, what really got their attention were, of course, the German forces, marching along with the Gallians.

"What in the hell's going here?" said a Gallian Regular soldier as he and some of his comrades looked at the German troops who came into the base.

"I'm not sure, but those are definitely not Gallians," said another soldier as he looked at the large column of tanks, armored personnel vehicles, and long line of marching infantry.

"Drawing quite a crowd..." Jaden said, riding on the front of the Edelweiss as they continued towards the vehicle hangar. "This'll get old real quick..."

As the Edelweiss along with the Devastator returned to their hangars, the German Panzers and armored vehicles parked in a straight row in the parade ground. Garen got out of his half-track and began shouting orders for the men to line up, who do so. The tank crews also exited their vehicles, dressed in their black uniforms.

"Men! You did well during the first week since we arrived here," Garen began.

"Of course we did!" One of the tank commanders said climbing out of his own Tiger I. "This is what we do for a living afteral!"

This caused a few of the German soldiers to start laughing.

"Alright, alright, settle down!" Garen shouted and the Germans stopped laughing, "Even though we gave the Imperials a good thrashing, we also know that they would not give up without a fight. You now know what you can expect from. They will fight us with both tooth and nail in order to keep what they claim is theirs by right."

He then began to walk up and down the lines of men.

"But what they don't know, is that we are just the taste," he continued. "What we gave them at Barious and Kloden was hardly even a slap compared to what our entire combat forces can accomplish. I know each of you old warriors will be equal to thousands of those sickly soft children in the Empire - for we represent a force which can easily defeat an army of a million and one men!"

"We shall teach the Imperials the true meaning of Blitzkrieg!" Garen announced, "We shall strike without warning - and to those who affiliate themselves with the Darcsen Hunters - without mercy, striking as one hand, one heart and one soul! Shattering their dreams of conquest, and haunting their nightmares for generations to come! We will teach them what it sounds like to have _our_ Jackboots make against their throats, as we attack the Imperials from the land, sea and air! And we shall make them regret for so much as taking a step into Gallia, and invoking not only the wrath of the Gallians, but also the wrath of the Wehrmacht!"

The German troops gave a cheer at that. All of them raising their weapons into the air.

Jaden watched from the hangar along with the Militia as he shook his head amusedly while chuckled.

"One thing about Germans, they know how to give Good speeches," The Japanese aviator said, while thinking the last part, 'Unlike that bloodthirsty Tojo,"

"They're high in spirits, I'll give e'm that." Largo admitted, nodding. "Honestly, we could use some of that… after how poorly things have been lately..."

"Yeah, I've heard how the majority of the General Brass of your army are nothing more than bloodsucking, spoiled, power hungry cowards," he said, "And worse, they're Nobles,"

"Not all of them are bad," said Largo, "General Roland Vinter of House Vinter is a capable commander, but unfortunately he's only a Brigadier, then there's Generals Vera Fuchses, Dietrich Norling, and finally, General Erwin Ahlberg. They're not arrogant like the major houses, but unfortunately they're only Minor Houses."

"Then they will be the ones my superiors will likely wish to do business with." Jaden said nodding. "They want their forces to be under the jurisdiction of competent commanders - not people handed the title solely because of who they were related to."

He then sighed before he smiled "Well, enough of that for now though." He said, "I've got a lot of work ahead of me, maintenance on tanks and such… I might as well give your tanks a look-see as well, see if I can up their performance at all..."

Largo blinked and looked at him with a confused expression, "I thought you were a pilot?" he said, and got uncomfortable at the smirk on Jaden's face.

"My friend, I may be just a pilot and expert on aircraft," he said, "But, I'm also good at ground vehicles and ships. I follow a motto, if it can be upgraded, upgrade it till ya can't upgrade no more!"

Largo looked pale as the thought of what this kid could do was scaring him.

"If the IJN would actually listen to me for once we wouldn't of been in the situation we're in with the Americans..." Jaden muttered to himself before he spoke up. "Anyways! If any ya'll need me, I'll be in the hangar!" With that said he grabbed a tool box and proceeded inside the closest hangar, twirling a monkey wrench in his hand whistling a tune.

Largo, along with some other Squad 7 members were sweating bullets.

"That guy scares me," said Vyse.

"Y-You're not the only one," said Edy.

"Largo, what have we just let into our hangar, near our tanks?" said Rosie.

"I… have no idea..."

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - Ghirlandaio Citadel**_

* * *

"Woo boy..." Radi Jaeger said as he looked at the combat reports from Kloden and Barious. "Now this is quite the surprise… who would ever guess Gallia would have combat-capable flying machines, and such advanced tanks and armored units..."

Berthold Gregor coldly glared at a copy of the report as he gripped the top of his cane tightly.

"I heard that the Amerian Republics are researching the concept, but they're still in the experimentation process," the cold General said, "How is this possible for the Gallians to build something so advanced so quickly?,"

"These aircraft are leagues ahead of what the Amerians are building..." Radi said, "Their maneuverability is superior, as well as firepower and armaments… it took Selvaria's Valkyrian powers just to down one of their aircraft… and even then, they managed to take out the Batomy's so easily… though I'd like to know where the Gallians got such advanced Tanks and armored vehicles, most of their vehicles are leftovers from the last war."

"I am as curious as you are Jaeger," said Gregor as he looked at a picture of one of these tanks, "If anything, such a technology should serve the Emperor,"

Radi wanted to sigh at the man's blind loyalty to the Emperor, but, he managed to resist.

"Did you inform him of this...dilemma?" he asked.

"I've sent the report, but I have yet to receive anything from the capital." Gregor said, "We may have underestimated the fighting capacity of the Gallians… I recently received another report from the 9th Fleet… or rather what's left of it."

"What's left of it?" Radi asked raising an eyebrow. "What happened? I thought they were up against a bunch of Gallian Cruisers, their navy's not that advanced..."

"I believed so as well," Gregor said sighing, "But when they came back… only a handful of destroyers survived the battle, and had suffered massive damage. The Battleship, Cruisers… even the _Leviathan_ were all sunk… reportedly by a fleet of unknown vessels, also utilizing these same aircraft with deadly efficiency."

Radi's eyes could only widen in shock at that, the _Leviathan_ was the most advanced and powerful dreadnaught the Empire ever built, yet it was sunk so easily.

"I bet the Emperor will not be taking this loss well," he said, and Berthold just glared at nothing in particular.

"The _Leviathan_ was the pride of his Majesty and our Empire, and it was destroyed in mere minutes! Of course he would be upset!" he said, clearly angered.

Selvaria meanwhile glanced at Maximilian, who had yet to say anything as he possessed a deep thoughtful expression. She dared not interrupt the crowned prince in his musings, until finally Maximilian spoke.

"For now, all we can do is proceed as we have before." He said, "But we must find out as much as we can about these new Gallian weapons of war..."

He then glanced at Selvaria and Radi. "Selvaria, Radi… I need the two of you to find out as much as you can about them." He informed as he stood up. "Princess Cordelia is hosting a banquet within the next few days… the two of you shall be attending the banquet, posing as the Count and Countess of Alsse."

Selvaria was looking a little hesitant at that, but managed to keep her emotions under control, knowing it was an order from the Prince. Radi meanwhile, just smiled.

"Well now, an infiltration mission into a party ,eh?" Radi said jokingly, "Just my area of expertise,"

"I expect both of you will get as much intel as possible." Maximilian said as he walked for the exit, "I will not have any further delays in our invasion of Gallia. Do not fail."

"We shall not, your grace." Selvaria said, as she bowed.

* * *

 _ **The Next Day**_

 _ **Randgriz**_

* * *

"No! No! No! That one goes there, and that one goes there!" Jaden shouted as he stood on top of a Gallian light tank with one of the engineers. "Give me the monkey wrench! Goddamn I swear you people need to retake your engineering course..."

"Oh come on! We're trying here!" said the Engineer, "But the modifications you want us to do to these things is impossible!"

A flick to the forehead sent him reeling back and falling off the tank. Jaden was glaring at the engineer, as he continued his work.

"Amateurs, the Darcsens do a better job than you guys ever could," he muttered, pointing his thumb over to where three Darcsen engineers were doing modifications to a Gallian Tank Destroyer. "They've already finished these same upgrades on five tanks in the last 24 hours, while YOU bozos haven't even finished ONE! Issho ni anata no tawagoto o Getto!"

"Stop saying things in a language we don't under-"

"GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!" Jaden said, lightly bonking the engineer in the head with the wrench. "Now, again!"

Leon Schmidt and Kreis Czherny watched as Jaden berated the more incompetent engineers into competence - the latter of whom sweatdropped as he facepalmed. "I never thought I'd say this… but somehow he's crazier than you Leon."

Leon however was doing the exact opposite, as he possessed stars in his eyes "It's just so perfect!" He shouted, "He's doing upgrades I never even thought about! I never thought we could make our old tanks move so fast! And did you see those new tanks they've given us? Oh they are just BEAUTIFUL, MAN!"

Kreis could only sweatdrop at his friend's antics.

"I stand corrected...again," he said, as Isara came over, "Oh, hey Isara!"

Isara nodded as she looked at Jaden work on the tank, "I see he's still giving the engineers a major earful, while at the same time modifying the tanks?" she asked, and Kreis sighed as he nodded.

"Yup, and Leon here has developed a fanboy phase," he said.

The word 'fanboy' seemed to snap Leon out of it as he glared at Kreis.

"Hey! I am not!" he shouted.

"You've practically been worshiping all of the things he's made!" Kreis retorted, "Face it, you've become a fanboy!"

Before Leon could form a retort, there was a loud honking noise, causing everyone in the hangar to blink before Jaden looked up and smirked. "Ah! They're here!" He said as he hopped off of his tank, and headed outside the hangar.

The others followed him outside and saw a group of trucks, and construction vehicles. However, what caught their attention the most was what was on the largest flatbed truck covered by a tarp.

The convoy stopped as personnel dressed in white uniforms began to disembark from the trucks. A German officer came out of the small Kubelwagon jeep, and approached Jaden.

"Lieutenant Commander Takeo?" the man said, and Jaden nodded, "I've brought the necessary equipment, personnel, and one of the aircraft you need. But Admiral Hoffman says that they'll need it back as soon as you're done with it,"

"Don't worry, it's just one plane." Jaden said, handing the man a folder. "Maps and specs are in there, get the crew over there ASAP - we've got a lot of work to be done, and not too much time to get it done."

"Got it." The man said saluting before he went back to the truck.

"Jaden?" The engineer looked back as he saw the Gallians behind him. "What's going on here?"

"Ah, right." Jaden said grinning, "Well, you see my superiors met with the Princess yesterday, and managed to establish a few deals. In addition to giving us a place for our troops and refugees to live, we were given an old abandoned tractor factory not too far north from here."

"Why do you need a tractor factory?" Kreis asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jaden grin never faltered "We're converting it," he said, "Into Gallia's first Aircraft Manufacturing plant, and the area surrounding it into Gallia's first Air Force Base!"

The Gallians all blinked at that, but before they could ask Jaden signaled the men on the flatbed to remove the tarp. When it was revealed what was under, the Gallians could only gape at what they were seeing.

"J...Jaden, that's a...," said Kreis, as his glasses looked like they were about to fall off.

"That's exactly what is my friend," said Jaden, "This may not be the Bf-109T fighter or the Ju-87 Stuka you saw in Barious. But, this single plane is good enough to get you started on aviation."

"This here, is the Fieseler Fi 167 Torpedo Bomber - though I like to call e'm Sealion's." He said, walking in front of the aircraft as the crowd surrounded it. "She's designed to drop 765 kg torpedoes into the water and hit enemy vessels below their waterline. It's these little puppies that helped us sink the Leviathan. They may be old - being biplane - but she's still effective."

The Gallians were stunned at this news. Though they weren't piloting the ones they saw in the desert, this was better than nothing.

Jaden's voice spoke up again, interrupting their thoughts.

"But first, for those of you who wish to become a pilot," he smirked as he brought out a book, "You're gonna go to school. I'm teaching you all not just how to fly one of these… and also, how to take one apart, and put it back together again." He tossed the flight manual into the hands of one of the Gallian engineers. "This is gonna be your homework for the next few weeks! After that, I'm gonna put you all through the flight course training!"

Leon was the first to jump at the challenge.

"Count me as your first volunteer!" he said with enthusiasm, causing Jaden to chuckle. Soon a total number of 15 volunteers stepped forward.

"Alright that's a good start," said Jaden, as his face turned serious "But know that this isn't gonna be a walk in the park, flying and building aircraft ain't nothing like working with Tanks and what you're use too. This is gonna require you to have split-second reaction timing, full awareness of your surroundings and airspace… one wrong move, and you'll find yourself diving at over 300 knots in the air."

There were a few gulps from the 15 volunteers, but none of them said a word, as Jaden continued.

"There are more hazards than that though," he said, "The Imps don't have plane's...yet! But, they can still find a way to bring one down. A heavy machine gun could easily take a plane down if the pilot isn't prepared! Its gonna be MY job to teach each of you how to survive up there!"

He then pulled out a large crate which was filled with instruction manuals for flying and aircraft maintenance and construction. "Alright, I want ya'll to start reading through these!" He said, "I want you to know each and every little detail about aircraft within the next few weeks! Got me?"

The group stood at attention and gave a 'Yes sir!' and Jaden nodded.

"Good," he said, "Now, for today, get a good look of the Sea Lion, more specifically the controls. Note, that not all aircraft share the same instruments. Remember that."

The group nodded and Jaden dismissed the volunteers and they immediately walked over toward the 167 to get a better look. He then turned to the Germans "Alright, the rest of you are to head to the place I indicated on the map," he said, handing the coordinates to the German engineer. "Start getting things set up there - once I get things set with the Gallians, some of their own engineers will head over there as well to help the conversion process, as well as begin constructing on the airfield."

The Head German engineer nodded as he took the coordinates and ordered the other engineers back on the trucks. They then took off for the abandoned Tank Factory.

"Hey, Jaden," Isara said getting his attention.

"What is it, Isara?" he asked, as the Darcsen woman smiled a bit.

"If you want, I can help point out other factories that were abandoned," she said, "Most of them might still have their equipment, but I don't know about any of the others,"

Jaden blinked "Wait, Gallia has other abandoned factories?" He asked, as Isara nodded.

"Yeah, after the first Europan war ended in 1915 a lot of manufacturing centers got shut down from bankruptcy." She said, "Most of them were older car factories and such… but I do remember the Kaiben Inc. building use to make old Gallian tanks before it was shut down for similar reasons. They were never reopened since newer factories got built, and it was considered more cost-effective to build new ones, than to modernize the old ones."

"Huh… well, their loss our gain." Jaden said with a grin, "We'll have to scout them out first though, we'll have to focus on the first factory of course. Once we get more resources we should be able to do more... thanks, Isara."

Isara blushed a bit at the praise, "I-It was nothing, I was just trying to be more helpful." she said.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Jaden as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "It was a big help! Don't count yourself short. In fact, from what I saw of you, during the whole time trip from Barious, you're a skilled prodigy in engineering. Seriously, you should be a helluva lot more than a simple mechanic! You should be in charge of a whole corps of engineers!"

"I… doubt that'll ever happen..." Isara said, bowing her head slightly. "I doubt anyone in Europa would want to follow a Darcsen..."

"Darcsen?" Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.

Isara blinked "Oh yeah… they said your people never met Darcsens..." she said, scratching the back of her head. "Well… you see, Darcsens are people who… well, look like me. Purplish hair and eyes… basically, thousands of years ago history says Darcsens began the Darcsen Calamity… burning hundreds of cities and farmland making wastelands like at Barious… it says the Valkyuru were the ones who stopped the Darcsens from causing further destruction… afterwards, as punishment… most Darcsens are barred from having surnames with very few exceptions like me… and are persecuted across Europa… especially in the Empire, who downright hunt us down..."

Jaden's eyes narrowed at that "So they're hunting your people down, for something you did millennia ago?" He asked, "That's a load of bullshit!"

Isara, again, blinked in surprise "E-Excuse me?" She asked.

"Its _Bullshit_! I doubt anyone alive today suffered from that Calamity!" Jaden continued, "Why keep a thousand year old grudge going like that?! Just because some Darcsens did something bad doesn't mean you should blame your entire race for their actions!"

Isara's eyes widened in surprise at that, clearly not expecting that reaction.

"I wanna know who're the Bakas that keep spreading this shit!" he said, "I'll introduce them to the business end of my Gunto!"

He then blinked as he realized something, "Speaking of which, I need to get back to the _Graf Zeppelin_ , most of my stuff is still onboard!" he said, while Isara giggled at the emotion 180 he pulled.

"Thanks… Jaden." She said, "It's… not every day someone supports Darcsens… well, aside from my brother of course."

"Persecution and Stereotypes are bullshit anyways," Jaden said. "I don't form my opinions on someone just because of what ethnic group or whatever they belong to, I form my opinions on who that someone is as a person… I wish more people would be like that though… prevent a lot of trouble..." Isara saw Jaden gained a rather… thoughtful expression for a moment before snapping back to his happier mood. "Anyways, wanna help me out with this bird's maintenance? Gotta start somewhere, right?"

Isara shook her head of the thoughts, before nodding in excitement.

"Of course!" she said, as Jaden led the way toward the plane.

Not far away, Welkin could only watch with a smile as Isara interacted with Jaden. He was glad his adopted gained a friend in the pilot, something she rarely had in the past due to the persecution of her people.

"I've never seen Isara so excited before," said Alicia as she stood next to Welkin, "I mean I've seen her smile, but that's the biggest smile I've seen on her. She looks like a little kid in a candy store,"

"Same here..." Welkin said, "I've seen her happy before, but this… I've never seen her more happy than she is now..."

Alicia smirked slightly "I think she might like Jaden..." she said.

"Of course she likes him - they're getting along so great right now!" Welkin said, causing Alicia to blink before she sighed.

"Not like that," Alicia said, nudging him slightly. "I mean _Really_ like him!"

Welkin blinked "What do you mean?" He asked, before the apprentice baker groaned, facepalming.

"Sometimes, Welks… I worry about you..." she said.

Before Welkin could form a retort, a Gallian soldier approached them. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Gunther?" The soldier asked, "Captain Varrot wishes to speak with you and Lieutenant Landzaat, ASAP."

Welkin blinked at that, before he nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, I'll go there immediately," he said and the soldier nodded.

"Lieutenant Landzaat has already been informed and is most likely already there," he said, and Welkin nodded, and returned the salute the soldier gave, who then turned and left.

"What do you think Captain Varrot needs?" Alicia said curiously.

"Don't know," he said, "Better go find out, I'll see you later Alicia. I'll tell you and the squad what the Captain told us,"

Alicia blinked at that, trying to form a reply but could only sigh.

* * *

 _ **Later - 3rd Regiment Headquarters**_

* * *

Shortly after being informed, Welkin arrived at the 3rd Regiment headquarters as he knocked on the door. "Welkin Gunther reporting Captain." He said, before opening the door and entering the room. Inside, as expected, was Captain Varrot sitting behind her desk, and Faldio standing in the room as well.

"I apologize for calling the two of you in on an off-duty day," Varrot said, "But Princess Cordelia has graciously extended banquet invitations to the three of us."

The two Lieutenants blinked at that.

"A royal banquet?" said Faldio.

"And we're invited?" said Welkin, while Varrot sighed mentally.

 _'I swear, they talk like twins!_ ' she thought.

"Yes, of course, we're not the only ones she extended the invitations to," she said, gaining a curious look from the two young men, "But you'll have to find out later at the Castle,"

"Does it concern our new friends?" asked Faldio.

"Possibly," Varrot said with a small smirk, "Anyways, the two of you are being recognized for your actions at the Vasel Bridge, as well as your more recent ops. The event will be held tomorrow night at the castle."

"Oh… ah..." Welkin muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I'm not… good with formal stuff..."

"What, are you crazy?" Faldio asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea how rare a chance to meet the princess is?! They say House Randgriz are descended from the Valkyrur, making the Princess a Valkyria! And we get an audience with her!"

"Well… yeah, I guess..." Welkin muttered, causing Varrot to chuckle a bit.

"Just don't forget to bring your dress uniforms, gentlemen." She said, "This invitation is also extended to anyone in particular you wish to bring. I'll meet you at castle Randgriz tomorrow evening. You're dismissed until then."

The two saluted and left the office. _'Well, so much for bird-watching tomorrow_...' Welkin thought.

* * *

 _ **The Next Day - Hotel room in Randgriz**_

* * *

Wagner sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror, dressed in his formal dress uniform as he looked at the assorted medals. Truth be told, he wasn't fond of festivities like the one he, his family, and Joseph are going to. But, unfortunately, this banquet is important not only for his people and the troops under his command and their families, but the Gallians as well.

"You always didn't like parties, Mein Leibling," said the amused voice of his wife, who walked over to him from behind and wrapped her arms around him. Nadette Wolfe was a woman who was the same age as her husband, but still looked as stunning as the day they first met. Her chocolate brown hair was in a braid that was draped over her shoulder, and the evening dress she was wearing was an emerald green.

"I know, and I still don't," he said, "Too much damn politics, and not to mention listening to people like Goebbels and Bormann, drone on and on about their Fuhrer's delusions for world conquest,"

Nadette von Wolfe giggled slightly "Well, at least we won't have to put up with them anymore," she said, pecking his cheek. "The worst we need to deal with for now is that Von Borg man you mentioned… though if you and Hoffman gave the Princess that pep talk, he shouldn't be an issue for much longer."

He chuckled at that, "You know, one of the sanest things that man ever said was that I had a silver tongue for inspiring others," he said, "Of course, I don't know whether to take that as compliment or an insult,"

Nadette tapped her chin with her gloved as she thought about that.

"Hmm, I think it's a bit of both," she said jokingly, causing the two of them to laugh until a knock was heard.

"Mutter? Vatter?" said the voice of their son and eldest child Mark, "Me and Selda are ready, and Admiral Hoffman and his daughter are ready as well, and the escort is waiting,"

Wagner sighed, as he adjusted his cap. "Well, showtime." he said, before he extended his hand to Nadette, who giggled as she accepted it before the two turned to leave their hotel.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - With Jaden**_

* * *

Jaden cursed slightly as he adjusted the collar of his white uniform. "I always hated these things..." he muttered. "Why did the Admiral ask for me to join him… he already has his daughter..."

He continued to fiddle with the tie for a few moments, before he heard a voice behind him. "Oh? Jaden?" He blinked before he turned around, and was surprised to see Isara standing there - now wearing a light blue almost Victorian-era like dress, and in her hands was the 'flying piglet' Hans. "I… didn't think you'd be here!"

"Oh! Ahh, Isara!" Jaden said, blushing a bit, "Yeah, ahhh… Admiral already left to meet the General. So Alicia said I could… take a ride with you guys… you ahhh… you look great!"

Isara blushed a bit as she hugged Hans a little tighter.

"Moink!" the piglet said in protest, making Isara gasp and loosen her hold on the winged animal, and chuckling sheepishly. Though the blush was still there.

"T-Thank you, Jaden," she said, "You look great as well,"

"Yeah… don't feel great though..." Jaden muttered as he continued to fiddle with the collar. "There's a very good reason I hate wearing these dress uniforms… too damn itchy..."

Isara giggled at that, "Welkin has the same problem, especially with the ties," she said, and Jaden groaned.

"Then he and I are a lot alike in that respect," he said, "I don't get why Military officers have to wear something so...flashy, and cumbersome, the combat dress uniforms work just fine!"

"Well, hopefully we won't have to put up with these things too much," Isara said. The two heard the sound of steps, before they saw Faldio, Welkin and Alicia walk down the stairs. "Ah! Welks, you ready?"

Welkin sighed "Well, as ready as I'll ever be..." he muttered, fidgeting a bit. "Still don't like the uniform."

"You and me both." Jaden said, causing Alicia to sigh.

"What is it with men and wearing dress uniforms?" She asked, "It's not that bad!"

"Hey, you don't have to wear one of these things!" Jaden exclaimed, indicating her own pink dress. "You have the excuse of being a guest… "

Faldio chuckled a bit "Well, it's only for tonight so bear with it." he said, "Come on, Ramal is waiting in the car."

* * *

 _ **Later - Inside the Castle**_

* * *

Castle Randgriz was bustling with activity as foreign ambassadors, dignitaries, nobles and other VIP's were arriving either by car or by horse-drawn carriages. People from across not only Europa, but other nations from across the globe had arrived to the banquet. Attendance was noticeably spiked though, as the increased rumors of Gallians possessing combat-capable flying machines spread like wildfire only a few weeks after reports were initially made.

One of the cars in the crowd approaching the castle stood out somewhat, possessing a bright white star, surrounded by four others - the military markings of a vehicle belonging to the United Amerian Republic.

Inside the vehicle, a middle aged man wearing a brown formal suit, with slightly greying black hair, and cobalt eyes looked outside as they approached the main entrance, where the other guests were leaving their cars, or horse drawn carriages.

"Ambassador Quinn," said one of the young officers with him, who was dressed in the formal military attire of the Amerian Army, he appeared to be 24 in age, with tanned skin yellow eyes, and brown hair. His skin and eyes identified him as a Dretan

"Yes Lieutenant?" said Derek Quinn, the Ambassador to the UAR.

"You think the rumors are true?," the officer asked, "About Gallia somehow acquiring advanced combat aircraft when we just started?"

The Amerian Ambassador sighed as he thought through the reports. "Normally, I'd doubt it..." he said, "Gallia is strong thanks to its Ragnite mines… but even they don't have the manufacturing capabilities of the larger superpowers like Ameria, Zipang, the Empire, or the Federation. Most of their equipment are leftovers from the last Europan War, and after shutting down so many of their manufacturing plants, by all means they shouldn't have this capacity..."

He then sighed as he set the report down, revealing a picture of the _Leviathan_. "But… results do not lie." he said, "There is no way a simple fleet of Gallian ships could sink a dreadnought like the _Leviathan_ in such short time… not to mention destroy a _Batomys_ -class Super Tank. We need to confirm whether or not these rumors are true or not..."

The young man nodded at that understanding it completely.

"And if they are true, sir?" he asked, and Derek sighed.

"Then let us hope they can be able to part with one of them," he said, "Our engineers back home are foaming at the mouth to study one of these aircraft. But, we have to do it with courtesy, respect, and no small degree of charm,"

The young officer grinned at that, "Well thankfully sir, you're the one who's good at that, since you're a politician. Me and Lieutenant Somne are just simple grunts who are paid to shoot not talk,"

"I can hear you, ya know!" said a female voice from the front of the car.

"Good, that's why I just said it," the Dretan said with a bigger smirk.

In the front passenger seat, a young woman, the same age as the man with red shoulder blade length hair tied up into a braided bun, with a few banes in the front, and aqua colored eyes, growled a bit at that.

"One of these days, Martinov, one of these days..." she muttered, as the car finally stopped, and the girl stepped out, wearing a woman's army dress uniform. She then opened the rear passenger door, allowing the Ambassador to exit the vehicle.

A little whiles behind them, another car awaited their turn in traffic to enter the castle as in the back seat, Radi Jaeger - now wearing a black and red tuxedo and orange sunglasses - let out a loud yawn "Well, damn me." He muttered, "At this rate, wouldn't the banquet end before we even get to the castle?"

Selvaria - wearing a deep purpleish/reddish dress sighed slightly "For the man who is the count of Alsse to say such words..." she said, causing Radi to smirk a bit.

"Well, forgive me, Countess of Alsse." He said with a chuckle, as Selvaria glanced away. "Come now. We're playing husband and wife, you know. It isn't good if you've forgotten about it."

"I have not forgotten it." Selvaria said immediately, "I just thought this smells of monkey business."

"What are you saying?" Radi asked, "You aren't thinking that this is just a banquet of enjoyment, right? Getting in touch with the Federation and UAR, while looking good for the Empire and Zipang… Gallia is trying hard to play both sides."

"Even so," Selvaria said, "It would still be fine without generals acting as spies."

Radi chuckled as he shrugged, as the car began to move once more. "Sorry, infiltration is my hobby." He said, "And this time it should be very interesting if we can find out if those aircraft really were Gallian… I heard the Empire's already investing a whole lot of new funds to their aircraft R&D after what happened… things are getting very interesting now in the Gallian Front."

"I can't believe the Emperor will approve of this since he shot the idea down numerous times," said Selvaria, with no amount of distaste lost, "He claimed such a thing is considered blasphemous, and that our Ground Forces and the Navy would be enough,"

Radi chuckled at that, "Well, the loss of the Leviathan, and a majority of the 9th Imperial Fleet, and the recent battles at Barious and Kloden woke him up to reality," he said, as the car finally came to a stop at the entrance and Radi stepped and turned back toward Selvaria. "Ready to go, Countess?"

Selvaria sighed, before she allowed Radi to help her out of the car, before the pair continued inside the castle, walking past the attendees.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - With Jaden and the others**_

* * *

Jaden was doing everything in his power to stop fidgeting with his collar anymore while in the crowd, but he still couldn't help but scratch at it. _'I will KILL whoever designed these things..._ ' he thought to himself as he looked over the still arriving attendees as they entered the banquet area. He scratched his collar again. "Kami ga kin'itsu ni norowa..."

"I see you still haven't gotten use to the formal uniform?" a voice said from behind, and Jaden turned and smiled a bit at the person.

"Nope, not one bit Mark," he said, as Mark Von Wolfe, dressed in his own white formal uniform, with the rank insignia of Lieutenant, walked toward him. He had his father's face but had his mother's hair and eyes. He also stood the same height as Jaden, if a couple centimeters more than him.

He was getting curious glances from the other guests, who were wondering where he was from and what Army he belonged to. He wasn't the only one, as Jaden had been getting similar glances as well.

"You know," Mark said, with a sly smirk, "My father taught me a trick when it comes to itchy dress collars,"

"Yeah yeah, Hoffman told me." Jaden said, "Cotton turtleneck shirt with a soft leather lined collar. Haven't had the chance to get me one though, so yeah."

Mark sighed, shaking his head "I'll loan you one of my spares next time..." he said, as he looked at the guests. "Lot of people here..."

"Yeah..." Jaden said as he looked at them all, "Kinda weird… whole new world and all, new nations… yet it still feels so familiar-" however Jaden stopped as one person caught his eye. Walking down the hall was a woman with silvery white hair, and crimson red eyes with an older man. He looked at her for a moment, swearing he had seen her before…

 _'Wait..._ ' he thought, as he imagined her with a lance and a shield, wearing a different uniform. _'Wait one goddamned minute here! THAT'S THE BITCH THAT SHOT ME DOWN!'_

Mark blinked as he saw Jaden's expression switch from annoyed to furious in split seconds. "Jaden?" He asked, "What's wrong?"

"Her." Jaden growled out in a whisper as the two in question walked past them. "She's the one with the laser-shooting lance that shot my fucking Zero down!"

"Wha...?" Mark said blinking in surprise and turned in the direction that Jaden was looking and his eyes widened in awe at the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, "...you mean that lovely vixen?"

Jaden just gawked at what the German said.

"Say wha-Vixen!?" he whispered harshly, "What in the hell is that suppose to mean!? She's with the EMPIRE, damnit!" Jaden began to make his way over to her, but Mark stopped him.

"Wait, Jaden!" He hissed, "We don't want to make a scene here! Not when we're in the middle of an alliance with Gallia!"

Jaden growled, but he relented. "Alright… But I'm keeping my eye on her..." he muttered, as he eyed the woman as she and her escort walked past. "...freaking laser beams, really?"

Mark could only sigh at his friend.

 _'What is it with Japanese and their high tempers?_ ' he thought to himself, as he pulled out his pocket watch and looked at the time. _'Vatter and the others should be any minute.'_

"Let's go, they'll be here soon." he said to Jaden, "And we should head to the throne where Cordelia should be,"

Jaden nodded stiffly, and the two left the hall, unaware they were spotted by Selvaria as well.

"Those two," she whispered to Jaeger.

"Hm?" Radi asked.

"Those uniforms… they aren't Gallian." She said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "But I've never seen those types of uniforms before from any other nation..."

Radi looked at Selvaria was looking at and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Nothing I've seen before, either," he said, "But, we'll worry about that later. Right now, we have information to find,"

Selvaria nodded as they continued walking until her eyes caught sight of another familiar face, who was looking straight at her with wide eyes. Selvaria's own eyes widened at seeing the same militia woman who she had met back at Barious.

Radi noticed Selvaria stopping, as he rose an eyebrow "What's wrong?" He asked, snapping Selvaria out of her stair before shaking her head. "Its nothing." She said, before she glanced back, but blinked when she noticed the woman was gone.

Suddenly, she felt a feeling that she had seen that woman somewhere before...someplace other than Barious.

 _'What is this?_ ' she thought to herself, _'Why do I feel like...I know her personally?_ '

She shook her head as she and Radi continued on. However a commotion was heard from the entrance, prompting the two to look behind.

"Hmm? What's this?" said Radi as she saw what looked like a small convoy of gray painted military vehicles, and a few staff cars pull up. A group of guards disembarked from the vehicles, and Selvaria immediately recognized their uniforms as the exact same ones the soldiers from the Barious desert utilized.

One of the guards approached one of the staff cars, and opened the door. Stepping out was an older man, wearing a dark dress uniform, with multiple badges and awards Selvaria had never seen across his chest. Though what caught her attention was the cross-like medal with crossed swords, and a gold oak leaf, around his neck. The man stepped aside, before he helped out another passenger - this one a woman about the same age, wearing an emerald green evening dress.

She had her chocolate brown, which had only minor greying, in a braided tail which draped over her shoulder, and had green eyes. She saw in the eyes of the woman which showed not only love for the mysterious officer, but also a fiery determination she hadn't seen in other women before.

She then spotted another guard open the door to the second staff, and out stepped a man with almost the same type of medals and awards, only his uniform was trimmed a bit in gold.

"Oh? Now who do we have here?" Radi asked with a small smirk, "Not Gallian… not Federation, but certainly not Amerian..."

He then watched as the second officer helped out a young woman, who dressed in a similar type of dress as the older woman, but it was colored differently, that being indigo.

"It's them..." he heard Selvaria say, and looked at the silver haired woman whose eyes were narrowed, "It's the same soldiers who helped the Gallians at Barious,"

Radi's eyes blinked in surprise, as the two Imperial Generals in disguise watched as the four walked on, while drawing curious eyes toward the new arrivals.

"Well… now things are getting interesting..." Radi said with a smirk, before the two continued. "We have more actors on this stage than I originally expected..."

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - with the others**_

* * *

"They obviously had to forge their identities..." Faldio said, as he, Jaden, Alicia, Welkin, Mark, and Isara had gathered in one of the hallways. "But still, this is very bold for them."

"I wonder who the man with her is..." Welkin asked, and Faldio shrugged.

"I don't know..." he said, "But what are they doing here though…."

"They must be trying to find out more about us," Jaden said. "The people are thinking Gallia's made a fleet of super aircraft after what happened to the Leviathan and our recent missions. Things like that tend to draw a lot of attention." He sighed "Well, one way or another, after tonight the alliance between our fleet and Gallia will be made official..."

He then sighed a bit "As much as I want to gut that silver-haired laser-shooting woman like a fish… can't exactly do that now." He said, "The last thing we want is to cause a scene… let's just keep an eye out on them, and make sure they don't try anything… funny."

"Agreed," said Mark, "In the meantime, let's just act casual, and try to enjoy ourselves a little. I just hope none of the politicians who are racist try to talk about delusions or anything like that, it's the reason he's not so fond of parties like this."

Everyone seemed to chuckle at the younger Wolfe's attempts to lighten the mood, until Ramal slightly gasped. The others looked at where Ramal was looking, and their eyes all widened as Princess Cordelia approached, with von Borg and their escorts. "Princess Cordelia!" Ramal said in surprise, and the group wasted no time as they lined up, and bowed as the princess walked past them.

Borg glanced at Jaden and Mark for a moment, blinking curiously, but banished those thoughts for now as he continued walking.

Alicia was feeling nervous as the future Archduchess of Gallia walked passed, the young baker prodigy from Bruhl couldn't help but move her eyes up and look up at the Princess.

She noticed the semi-tired look in her eyes, but there was also a ray of...hope, she thought she saw as the procession continued on to the throne room. As soon as they were out of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was intense...," she said, drawing a few chuckles from the group.

* * *

 _ **Throne Room**_

* * *

"Her Majesty, Princess Cordelia gi Randgriz, Enters!"

All eyes across the room diverted their attention towards the entrance of the throne room, as Cordelia and Von Borg entered the throne room, along with their bodyguard carrying the Princess's ceremonial lance. As she walked by, she glanced around the room, and she managed to locate General Wagner and Admiral Hoffman rather quickly. The Admiral smiled as he saw the princess, nodding as he bowed in respect, as did Wagner. Cordelia couldn't help but smile a bit herself, which thankfully Borg did not notice. 'Well… here goes… everything I suppose.' she thought to herself.

As she reached the end of the room, she and Borg turned around, as their guard presented her lance to Cordelia, who accepted it as she held it in her hand, planting it into the ground. "To be able… to invite so many guests from the Federation, and across the world to be together in this banquet fills me with endless joy." She said, as she managed to smile a bit. "It may be short… but I want you all to enjoy this time."

Von Borg clapped his hands, and moments later the rest of the attendees clapped their hands in applause for the Princess. However, before Von Borg could say anything else, Cordelia spoke up once more. "However… before we continue… I would like to address a certain… rumor that has been floating about these past few days."

This caught the attention of many of the ambassadors, as they began paying close attention. As did Radi and Selvaria who stiffened slightly. "Your Highness?" Borg asked, sounding rather unsure. "Rumors…?"

Cordelia smiled a bit "This was while you were away in the Federation, Prime Minister." she said, before turning back to the crowd. "Many of you have heard… about our recent victories in the Gallian Sea, where we sunk the Imperial Dreadnought _Leviathan_ with advanced warships, and aircraft… as well as our victories in the Barious Desert, and the Kloden Wildwood, where we beat the Imperials back with superior firepower, and utilizing these same aircraft."

Ambassador Quinn straightened himself _'So… they_ are _addressing it...'_ he thought.

"Many have been claiming these new war machines, aircraft and vessels belong to Gallia, and were manufactured here." She said, "This is… half true. While we did not make them… the people who had have recently sworn their allegiance to Gallia, to defend us from the Imperials… Ladies and Gentlemen… I wish for all of you bid welcome… to General Wagner von Wolfe and Admiral Joseph Hoffman, of the German Wehrmacht."

The two high ranking German officers immediately stood out from the crowd, with the said people now muttering very quickly. Quinn and his entourage were intrigued as they saw the two march up near the throne and made a sharp 180 toward the other attendees.

"They're the ones...who have been helping out Gallia Recently?" said Lieutenant Somne as she looked the officers up and down.

"It appears so..." Quinn muttered, as the Imperials also looked at the pair with interest.

"Well now… that was easy." Radi said with a smirk, "So these are the ones who sunk the _Leviathan_ , and defeated Maximilian at Barious..."

Selvaria's red eyes narrowed more as she looked at the High ranking commanders of the force that have defeated her Lord's forces at Barious and at Kloden, and annihilating the 9th Fleet.

"For those of you who are wondering about their nation, Germany. I am sorry to say that their Homeland has been destroyed by an Imperial invasion and they're the only survivors of their military and people who managed to escape," Cordelia said, "So do not be confused if you cannot find it on any maps… they have graciously come to the aid of Gallia three times in the past few days, and both have offered the full support of their forces to defend Gallia against Imperial Aggression."

 _'Germany?_ ' Radi thought with a slightly raised eyebrow. _'I never heard of a nation called Germany..._ '

"For a more detailed explanation I will allow them to speak," said Cordelia, and the two nodded, as Hoffman motioned for Wagner to go ahead.

"Thank you, your Highness," said Wagner as he turned to the gathered crowd, "I'll try to make this as understanding as possible for all of you, I'm not good at storytelling, only making them," he got a chuckle from Hoffman as well as a few others, "But please note that everything we tell you is the truth," 'Or at least… a bending the truth.' he added as an afterthought.

"Our Nation, Germany… use to be a powerful nation." He said, "High industrial and economic power, a hardy people… people would both fear and respect the power our nation managed to obtain, when barely twenty years earlier our nation was wrecked in an economic depression unlike any before. Our leaders… rebuilt our nation, rebuilt our strength, and rebuilt our pride."

"But… after gaining so much power, many of the people were blinded to what our Führer - our leader - was doing behind our backs." Wagner continued, "He began warmongering… conquering and annexing smaller nations to our cause… all while claiming the German Aryan race was the only true 'master' race… while scapegoating anyone who he deemed 'sub-human' or simply didn't agree with his philosophy… putting them in concentration camps, where they are either worked to death, or just gassed to death."

There were several gasps at that, as Wagner continued. "When the German people began fighting the Empire… myself and Admiral Hoffman knew that the Germany we've known for so long was long dead." He said, "We gathered the soldiers loyal to us, and their families… taking with us whatever ships we could, and obtaining Germany's only aircraft prototypes to prevent them from falling into Imperial hands… and we left our old homeland… hoping to prevent the same mistakes that our nation made, from happening from any other nation."

"The Principality of Gallia… reminds us much of our old home," He said. "And the Princess has warmly welcomed our people here… and for as long as we of the Wehrmacht live here, we shall continue to serve the Princess, and all of Gallia to the best of our abilities, and ensure that this nation shall never be threatened by tyrants ever again!"

The crowd of dignitaries were silent as they listened, all the while the disguised Imperials, the Amerian delegation, and finally Townsend himself grew interested. The silence was broken as Welkin and Faldio who had entered the throne room, along with Ramal, Isara, and Alicia began to applaud. Soon the whole room began to applaud, stopping any questions many of the delegates had to ask.

 _'Hook, line and sinker_.' Hoffman thought with a small smirk. _'Stole the show from the Federation…_ '

"Thank you for all you have done, General." Cordelia said nodding, "It is reassuring to know that Gallia will not be alone in our fight against the Empire… though I do believe we have an award ceremony to continue here. We have here today Lieutenants Welkin Gunther and Faldio Landzaat of the Gallian Militia 3rd Regiment - the men who recaptured Vasel, Kloden and Barious!" Knowing that was their cue, the two Gallian Lieutenants stepped forward as they marched towards the front of the throne room towards the princess.

The German commanders stood out of the way. As the Gallian Militia Lieutenants made their way up to the podium, and bowed before the Princess.

"Have you read the file on those two?" Hoffman said, and Wagner nodded with a smile.

"I have, they sorta remind me of myself when I was younger. Gunther with his love for nature, and Landzaat with his hard work ethic and passion for archaeology." He said, as the young men received the Principality Medal of Honor for their efforts. He then turned as one of his officers entered, a case in his hand.

"Ah, thank you." Wagner said, accepting the case. Causing Hoffman to raise an eyebrow.

"What you got there?" He asked, as Wagner smirked a bit.

"After all they accomplished, I think they deserve a reward from us as well." He informed, as he opened the large case and took out two smaller cases, and handed the larger one back to the junior officer.

"For your brave actions, going beyond the call of duty, I present to both of you the Principality Medal of Honor." Cordelia said, as she presented to both of the Lieutenants their own Medal of Honor, "On behalf of all of Gallia… we thank you for all you have done."

"Lieutenant Gunther is the son of the late General Gunther, who showed outstanding service during the last war." Von Borg said, as he finally recovered from Cordelia's rather… sudden streak of boldness. "For as long as we have young men like them, Gallia will stand firm!"

The people all clapped in congratulation for the two young men, as Irene took a picture. However attention was returned to the German commanders as Wagner approached along with the two smaller cases he took from the briefcase.

"I was informed of the bravery that you two exhibited," he said, as he handed one of the cases to Hoffman who took it, a little curious about what was in it, "In Germany, courage is a true virtue among our people, many have it, though every now and then we encounter individuals with an exceptional amount of courage, both German and non-German… because of that, I believed it only fitting that I present the two of you… with these."

Wagner opened the case, revealing inside was a medal of some sort on a red and black ribbon. The Medal itself was gold, with the shape of a narrow cross, and four eagles standing on top of circles containing additional crosses. "This… is the Medal of the Order of the German Eagle." He said, "Germany would award these to foreigners who aided and supported our country… granted, they were originally for diplomats and nationals who once supported our past Fuhrer's ideas… these I had… specially modified. To commemorate your courage against seemingly overwhelming odds. I look forward to working with you in the future, Lieutenant Gunther, Lieutenant Landzaat."

With that he handed one case to Welkin, while Hoffman, while smiling, handed the case he was holding to Faldio. The two Lieutenants' faces all showing surprise and awe, along with the delegates at the two medals.

"Th...Thank you, sir," said Welkin as he and Faldio saluted, and the General and Admiral returned them.

"That was a noble gesture, General Wolfe," said Cordelia, and Wagner bowed.

"I know courage and intellect when I see it, your highness," he said, "and these two showed it in spades,"

Before anything more could be said, the participants all blinked as they began to hear a distant… humming sound from outside. "Ah… they arrived." Hoffman said, before he headed towards the exit. "If any of you still have… doubts about our airpower… please, follow me outside."

The attendees, more specifically the Amerians and Imperials, were all curious as they followed the two high ranking German officers toward the courtyard. It took a few minutes for them to get outside, and when they did, and looked up into the sky a flight of four Bf-109Ts flew over the castle at high speed, surprising the visitors.

"Holy shit..." Quinn muttered, as the four Bf 109T's split apart in perfect synchronization. Two of the Messerschmitts seemed to turn and approached one another, almost as if they were going to collide in mid air at incredibly fast speeds. However, at the very last moment, the two planes broke past one another, passing the other mere inches apart.

Another 109 was doing a series of barrel rolls and made a split-S and again flew over the castle courtyard.

"Whoa...," said Martinov as the fighters rejoined into formation and began to fly away, only for a loud screeching sound to take their place, as a Ju 87 Stuka Dive Bomber was in a dive. Most of the attendees panicked believing the aircraft will crash but then the Stuka pulled out of the dive, causing many to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ladies and Gentlemen… I present to you all the pinnacle of German Engineering," Hoffman said smirking, "The Bf 109T Fighter, the Ju-87C Stuka Dive-Bomber, and the Fi 167 Torpedo Bomber! The aircraft which sunk the Leviathan, and destroyed the Imperial's little toy at Barious!"

Another trio of planes arrived over the castle, these being the said torpedo bombers with the rear gunners seen waving down at them.

"These aircraft have proven themselves in combat, and thus, with the renovation of factories here in Gallia, we will begin mass production," he said, "However, these models will not be the only ones to be built, as soon, with patience and time, new models will be built. And Aircraft shall not be all we produce, as we shall continue to improve Gallia's ground forces with superior tanks, armored vehicles, and firearms to further even the odds with the Imperials. And our naval forces shall also be integrated into the Gallian Navy, and over time more vessels will be produced to replace the older Gallian ships."

The foreign dignitaries were all shocked by this announcement, especially Von Borg, Townsend, and Quinn. The former two, were worried this will throw a wrench in their plans, while the final individual was thinking how this could help his nation in a way.

 _'Maybe...,_ ' he thought as something hit him, _'Maybe the AVL plan will be able to gain more than just combat experience from this_ ,'

Meanwhile, Radi looked up at the German airshow, and smiled as he saw the aircraft. _'Those two..._ ' he thought, as he glanced at the General and Admiral. _'If they can pull this off… maybe… '_

"I hope you've enjoyed this demonstration," said Hoffman, interrupting the two's thoughts, "If you plan on staying in Gallia for a longer time, we'll be more than willing to show you the airbase we're building, as well meet a few of the battalions. And if you have any technical questions, don't be afraid to ask our Engineering expert and pilot, Jaden Takeo."

He pointed towards where Jaden currently stood, as all eyes suddenly diverted towards the young man, who blinked in surprise at the sudden attention he was being given. "Oh Goddamnit Hoffman..." He muttered.

"Good luck, Lieutenant," said Hoffman smirking, causing the IJN pilot to glare.

 _'I'm going to fucking kill you, ya old bastard.'_ he thought murderously, _'Mark my words, you will suffer a thousand deaths before I'm through with you!_ '

Irene was having a field day as she was photographing the aircraft like crazy.

 _'Oh joy, this is GOLD!_ ' she thought with a big smile on her face, _'This is gonna be the biggest scoop in HISTORY!'_

* * *

 **117Jorn: See? Told ya it wouldn't take long!**

 **Patriot-112: That's right! And what will happen in the future you ask? Well, just wait and see. Until then...**

 **Both: JA NE!**


	4. Chapter 3: Alliances Forging, and Rescue

_**AN: ...You know, screw it, you guys already read the disclaimer thrice already. LOL! Anyway enjoy the chapter and support the official release!**_

* * *

 _ **Europa - Gallia Capital of Randgriz**_

 _ **June 24th 1935 E.C..**_

* * *

As the banquet at the castle continued, Jaden was doing his best to answer as many technical questions as possible. Though right now it was bit hard for him.

While this was going on a certain Imperial general was looking for Wolfe and Hoffman.

 _'Now where did they go?_ ' Radi thought to himself, as he looked until he spotted the two men he was looking for talking to other two men. He recognized one as an Ambassador from the Kingdom of Dryer, and one a well known Colonel of the Falken Army.

The former was Ambassador Rondo Dietrich, a man in his fifties with a bald head and black eyes wearing a formal black dress uniform. Radi knew the man was a rather close member to the Royal Dryer Family, and was their go-to ambassador for any critical meetings. After all the buzz going on in Gallia, it was no wonder that he was sent over.

Next to him was one Colonel Alesky Franciszek - a man in his forties with crew cut brown hair and matching brown eyes, wearing the usual brown dress uniform of the Falken military. Radi and any competent military commander would have heard of the exploits of Colonel Franciszek, for his actions as a Corporal during the first Europan War as he lead his section of soldiers and cavalry against Imperial Tanks and Shocktroopers. His use of Guerilla warfare tactics ensured Falken would remained independent from the Empire, and the image of him riding into battle on a horse wielding an Anti-Tank Lance leading his regiment of Falken Dragoon's was the stuff of legend.

"Your equipment doesn't run on Ragnite?" Alesky asked the two Germans as Radi listened in. "It's all oil-based?"

"Exactly." Hoffman said nodding. "Germany had no Ragnite reserves… in fact, we never even heard of it until we made contact with the Imperials and Gallians. While we are working on a method of converting our equipment to use Ragnite, we believe it may be best to continue the use of crude oil. We have invented a process which could allow us to synthesize oil… however until such production can begin, Falken is the only nation with any deposits of Oil."

"You wish to form an alliance with the Falken?" Rondo asked. "All for Oil when you could just use Ragnite?"

"As we said, our vehicles are not built with Ragnite in mind." Hoffman said, "Though that is a blessing in disguise, since we've discovered how most vehicles such as tanks that do use Ragnite all suffer the same critical flaw with its radiators being far too exposed on the rear of the tank. Our tanks do not share that same weakness." He then turned back to Alesky. "If Falken trades with us - and eventually Gallia - we shall show you how the Fischer-Tropsch process works, and your nation can synthesize an abundance of oil. We obtain this oil to keep our vehicles in functioning condition… and in return, our German forces will be willing to aid your nation in the event of any Imperial - or Federation - aggression."

"This offer also extends to the Dryer Kingdom," Hoffman continues, "For your nation possesses the largest source of manpower out of our three nations, just as Falken has the most resources, and Gallia and our forces combined technological advantages - and shall soon receive a booming industrial advantage as well. What I am suggesting is a… defensive pact. An Alliance between Falken, Dryer, Gallia, and mine and Wagner's German forces. Together, our combined military, economic, and industrial strength and cooperation will allow our nations to stand against anyone who would attempt to take advantage of us. And in times like these… it is best to not work alone."

The two men nodded in agreement at that.

"Yes, you're right about that," said Rondo, "The Empire's warmongering is getting quite out of hand, and the Federation is becoming rather too pushy when it comes to convincing non-aligned nations to join them."

Alesky sighed at that, "And it gets worse with men like Townsend in in charge of things," he said, "At least the UAR has their heads on straight, their nations are united by one simple cause and that is to stay free,"

"What more can you tell us about the UAR?" asked Wagner.

"They were formerly Europan colonies, until they rebelled of course, the major nations in the UAR, are Wellos, Dreta, Norgia, Ticon, and a few others," Rondo said, "Their military is a well united force, and corruption is immediately stamped out, maintaining a small central government as opposed to the massive corruption-filled Federation Parliament. They're one of the few nations that maintains a balance between using Ragnite and Oil. They also have the 3rd largest military in the world, second being the Imperial Alliance, and first being Zipang to the far east."

"They played neutral throughout the first Europan War, and still are today." Alesky said. "Although volunteers from the military do operate with the Federation and Gallia from time to time, and have been supplying relief supplies to other nations affected by the war."

"I'm guessing these _volunteers_ are a way for it's armed forces to have some sort of combat experience?" Wagner asked, and the two nodded.

"Absolutely," said Alesky, and a grin formed, "And I must say they fight rather well, especially the Wellosians and Dretans, since the former are good horse mounted infantry, while the Dretans are well taught in close quarters fighting, especially with those Direwolf partners of theirs."

Wolfe and Hoffman both blinked at that.

"Direwolf partners?" Wagner asked curiously.

"Ah yes… the Direwolf is the national animal of Ameria," Rondo said, "So much to the point many take Direwolves in as pets. They are also used by their military quite often to seek out mines, boobytraps and Improvised explosive devices. Those wolves are unimaginably smart… it's argued that their semi-sentient as well sometimes."

"And big too," put in Alesky.

"How big?" said Wagner and the Falken Colonel held his arms out as far as he could.

"Bigger than this...almost double the size of a normal wolf," he said, "They're hyper predators, with stories going around that a Dretan hunter took his Direwolf with him on a Safari, and that wolf decimated a pack of Hyenas by itself while protecting the hunter,"

"The last thing you'll ever want to do is piss off one of those wolves," Rondo said. "They're known to be… rather vindictive."

"Duly noted." Wagner said nodding. "If we could work out some form of alliance with the Amerians, even if it's just medical supplies and such, it would go a long way for all three of our nations."

"Does the Princess approve of this?" Alesky asked, and Wagner smirked slightly.

"Of course," he said nodding. "She wants Gallia to remain neutral, but with this invasion she knows Gallia can't hope to stand against them for long alone. An alliance with other nations not part of the Imperials or Federation is much more ideal. I would not have sought you out if she did not give us her permission."

"I agree with you," said Rondo, "The last thing anyone needs is an annoying political backlash,"

The four chuckled at that.

"Trust us, we know the feeling," said Hoffman, and noticed Radi in the corner of his eye, "And it appears we have an interested person watching us,"

The three other men followed his example inconspicuously and spotted Radi watching them, with Alesky blinking a bit, before his eyes widened slightly. "That's Radi Jaeger..." he whispered. "Why is he here?"

"You know of him?" Wagner asked, and Alesky nodded.

"He was one of the Kingdom of Fhirald's best field commanders and soldiers, fought against the Imperials during their invasion for months. Even managing to hold his own against Berthold Gregor… though ultimately the Imperials conquered Fhirald. But I've heard he joined the Drei Stern under Maximilian's command… something about a promise to allow Fhirald to be independent again."

Wagner and Hoffman both blinked at that, and a plan entered their heads.

"I see," said Wagner, "I think I'll speak to him. Mind continuing things here, Joseph?"

Hoffman smirked a bit, realizing the plan he had, "By all means," he said and Wagner turned headed in the direction of the Fhiraldian General.

 _'So, they want to form an Alliance with the other neighboring neutral nations...'_ Radi thought to himself as he took a sip from his wine glass. _'Gallia alone's already causing us a lot of trouble, now the Germans are here, and with Dreyer and Falken allied with them it would make things all the more difficult… let alone if they manage to get support from Ameria.'_

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw the German General begin to walk towards him, and remained calm as the man stopped in front of him. As he looked at Wagner, he could definitely see that this man faced a lot of combat, if the look in his eyes was any indication.

"Good evening to you, good sir," greeted Wagner, as he held up his glass, "I hope you're enjoying this party tonight?"

Radi shrugged "Its fine," he said, before he smirked a bit. "Though that little bombshell you dropped on the people was definitely the highlight of the day."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," said Wagner, "But I can't help myself that you were enjoying our talks with the representatives of the Dryer Kingdom and the National Republic of Falken,"

Radi gave a shrug, "Just curious is all. In fact I call it a bold move, considering most of Gallia, more specifically, it's nobles and aristocrats will be against it, considering they're a tad bit too much isolationist," he said, "But since the Princess has the final say, and is agreeing with you on this, I say Gallia's chances of surviving have improved."

"The biggest problem will be the Noble houses that have been working with the Federation, like Borg and Gassenarl." He continued, "They've been wanting Gallia to join the Federation - or at least maintain stronger ties with them - ever since the last war ended. Considering how powerful they gotten in the last few years, they could easily sway some of the other houses to follow..."

Wagner nodded at that, "Yes, I'm aware. Not to mention, from what I heard, they have control of a good portion of the Regular Army," he said with a sigh, "Other Noble families who support the princess just don't have enough political backing."

Radi nodded at that, "Too true, I'm afraid," he said, as Wagner decided to take this conversation someplace else. He gestured for Radi to follow him, as he did.

"Our best bet would be to find some way to discredit Borg and Gassenarl." He said, "Find proof that they're collaborating with the Federation. If the Gallian people saw that they cared so little about their nation's own well being...well, I think it goes without saying they'd lose a lot of support."

"That's true," Radi said nodding as he followed him. "Though the real question is, where are you gonna get that proof?"

Wagner only smirked, "Oh don't worry, I have a feeling that Borg himself is going to give me that himself," he said, "Unwittingly though, I might add,"

Radi only blinked, but said as they reached a secluded spot.

"Now that we're alone, tell me," he said and turned to Radi with a serious expression, "What is a famous Fhiraldian Field Commander, now an Imperial General, doing here of all places?"

Radi blinked in surprise at this, and was about to refute the claim, but Wagner stopped him.

"You were easily recognized by Colonel Franciszek, General Jaeger," he said, "Your reputation precedes you."

Radi paused before he chuckled a bit "Well, I suppose anyone back in those days would recognize me..." He said, "Though I think you know exactly why I'm here, General Von Wolfe. Your arrival to the Gallian Front has caused quite a stir in the Imperial Forces. They're still trying to figure out what's going on after what you did to the _Leviathan_ and _Batomy's_."

Wagner shrugged his shoulders at that, "I knew that would be the reaction when we blew that over sized dreadnaught and that beast to kingdom come," he said, with a chuckle before he continued, "I was told you made a deal with the Crown Prince which in return for your services, Fhirald would be an independent nation again,"

Radi sighed at that, "It's not like I had any other choice. The situation in Fhirald is...less than favorable," he said, "Our last king and queen were killed in the last war, with their only heir missing. Anyone who the Imperials believed would be 'troublesome' were either imprisoned or executed… the Kingdom surrendered before it was fully beaten militarily in the hopes that the Imperials would be more lenient during their occupation and could eventually be persuaded to grant the kingdom its independence, perhaps as a vassal state... but so far, they've treated us just like they've treated any other nation they conquer."

Wagner eyes narrowed at that, clearly seeing the predicament the people of Fhirald are in.

"Have there been any resistance groups formed or any former military who left the country to a foreign country as an Army-in-exile?" he asked and Radi thought about that.

"An underground group of resistance fighters does exist. Since Fhirald surrendered early, a lot of Fhirald's Army survived the war, though not very much," he said. "But they don't have that much support… most fear that if they really hit the empire, they'd start doing to them what they're doing to the Darcsens, and throw them into the labor camps."

Wagner sighed at that.

"Fear of retaliation makes a person lose what courage they have," he said, before looking at Radi, "That settles it, once I can, I will help liberate Fhirald,"

Radi blinked and looked at the German general.

"And how do you plan to do that? Since you're now part of Gallia, if your troops are caught crossing the border-,"

Wagner held his hand up to stop him, "I know, political backlash and all," he said, "But, I will think of something, instead of charging in like a caveman with a club. There are plenty of ways to help support a growing rebellion… back home, we had to deal with resistance groups, so I've learned how to use them myself… "

"You may think Maximilian will get your country back..." Wagner said, looking at the Gerneral. "But can you tell me, without a doubt in your mind, that he'll keep that promise? At least not with some kind of hook attached to it?"

Radi began to think hard on that, when he made the deal with Maximilian in order to free his nation, he was desperate to free Fhirald from the grip of the Empire. Of course, now that he thought about it, the Prince, even though he wasn't an discriminating bastard like most of the Empire, he could tell by the look in the man's eyes he had no love or trust for anyone either.

Sure there were was some respect, but as far as other positive emotions...nil.

"...you may be right," Radi said, "But I won't just throw the fate of my people into a man I just met."

Wagner chuckled "Of course," he said, "I'd be worried if you did… however, I have a bit of a… wager, if you are interested… you are worried that we will not be enough to liberate your homeland, correct? Well… If we and the Gallians can successfully fight back the Imperials, despite having less equipment and manpower, will that make you believe we can liberate your homeland?"

Radi began to think about that, if these Germans could show they mean business and help the Gallians push the Imperials out of their country. Then, it might convince him that they are legit and ask for their assistance in liberating Fhirald. If not...he and Fhirald were screwed.

"I'll give you a shot," said Radi, "And if you're successful, I can probably try to convince a few soldiers under my command to defect to you."

Wagner nodded at that, "Fair enough, and also, me and my men already took in two who deserted along with a third, but the third one died due to wounds," he said.

"Ah, I remember hearing about that." Radi said nodding, "Deserted a few days ago… what do you plan to do with them?"

"I've asked them if they wished to join the Wehrmacht… and they accepted." Wagner said shrugging, "I'm a good judge of both character and skills, and those two showed both quite well."

Radi nodded, convinced that sending disillusioned soldiers among the Imperial Army was a good idea.

"Ya know," he said, "I can make your life easier if I accidentally slip some information to you via defectors,"

Wagner blinked before grinning, "I will like that," he said, "However you need to be VERY discreet about,"

Radi just laughed a bit, "If there is one thing I'm good at General von Wolfe, it's being sneaky," he said.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - Elsewhere in the Banquet**_

* * *

 _'Where did he go to_ now _?_ ' Selvaria thought with a slight groan as she walked past all of the guests of the Banquet, looking for wherever Jaeger had gone. ' _I let my eyes get off him for_ two minutes _and he runs off to Valkyrur knows where..._ '

As she looked for the former Fhiraldian commander, she didn't look where she was going until she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said a male voice and she faced the person she ran into only to mentally gasp as she saw she ran right into one of the German soldiers. And judging by this young face, he's about the same age as herself.

Mark on the other hand, felt his heart stop as he saw the same silver-haired woman he had seen back at the entrance hall.

"Well, hello there," he greeted.

"Hello." Selvaria said, "You… are one of the Germans, are you not?"

Mark nodded, as he gave Selvaria a slight bow in greeting.

"Indeed I am, I'm Oberleutnant Mark Von Wolfe." he said, and Selvaria blinked at the first part which Mark picked up on and chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, Oberleutnant means First Lieutenant in your language,"

"I see..." Selvaria said, "I must say… I've never heard of the country Germany before… let alone ever hear this... German language you seem to have."

"Germany is very far to the east, we're not surprised people from the west haven't heard of us." Mark said. "The only nations that knew us were the ones neighboring us until… well, the Imperials showed up. "

Selvaria was perplexed at this, but kept to herself. Knowing the Empire, they're bound to erase all traces of the countries they conquered, either slowly, or quickly. They would just rename the country as a newly established province and leave it at that.

"I understand your people are prideful in the military sense," she said, while Mark chuckled.

"Warfare is not our only profession, Milady," he said, "We have skilled people in the arts of music, painting, sculpting, many things. Before we were a united nation we were once divided into Nation-states, each with a different ruler with his own army. We had come a long way both culturally, and technologically as you could see."

"It… must be hard, having your nation taken from you." Selvaria said, trying to play into the role as someone who wasn't affiliated with the Imperials. Mark knew Selvaria was faking it, but decided to play along.

"Yes, it was. But before the invasion, our identity and reputation was already being tarnished," Mark said with distaste, "Our... _leaders_ at that time were only caring about their own delusional dreams. They even planned to wipe an entire nation and it's people off the face of history because they became an independent nation after over a hundred years being non-existent… "

"In a sense, the Imperials attacking Germany was a good thing… in a way." Mark said, "Now… we can begin anew. Here, in Gallia… if we can stop the Imperials from taking Gallia like they took our home… and prevent Gallia from making the same mistakes our country made… perhaps we can change all of Europa for the better."

Selvaria blinked at that.

"Change? How?" she asked, and Mark gained a determined glint in his green eyes.

"First, this damn ancient racial persecution of Darcsens must end," he said with steel, "That kind of behavior doesn't belong in a modern world. Second, the Nobility of here in Gallia and in the Empire need a reality check that they are not gifts from the heavens and have the right to bully the weak. Valkyrur or no Valkyrur, there's no such thing as a 'chosen race'."

"You sound very determined about that." Selvaria said, as Mark's eyes narrowed.

"We dealt with enough of that back home." He said, "Hitler persecuted an entire people just because they didn't believe in the same thing he and the Nazi's believed, and did the same thing to anyone he deemed 'subhuman'. What the Imperials are doing to the Darcsens is almost identical to what Hitler did to the Jews, Gypsies, Handicapped, and anyone else he didn't like."

"Even if the Darcsens were responsible for the Calamity thousands of years ago… it's been thousands of years ago!" Mark said, "Should we persecute an entire people for something that no one alive today can account for or lived through? For something they have no control over?"

Selvaria was utterly surprised by the passion in the young man's words, as Mark continued.

"I knew a Jew, an old Veteran from the last war who fought bravely on the frontlines, and earned himself an Iron Cross," he said, "He and my father were good friends and would tell stories of the good old days. He was arrested by the Gestapo secret police and sent to an Concentration Camp. We never saw him again."

"We will stop the Imperials… so history does not repeat itself here." He said, "We can only hope that there will be like-minded people somewhere in the Empire who think its time for change as well..."

"Perhaps… the leader of the Gallian invasion, Prince Maximilian, could be one of them?" Selvaria asked, trying to subtly promote his Grace's appearance to the German. "He seems honorable..."

"By attacking a neutral nation?" Mark retorted with a raised eyebrow. "I doubt it… don't get me wrong, from what I've heard of Maximilian he has much more honor than most of the other Imperials in the royal family. But… at the same time… according to what he's done, his actions mirror those of Hitler far too much. He has some kind of personal agenda to all of this…"

Mark shrugged "Then again, we haven't met him face to face yet." he said, "If my father were to meet him, then maybe he'd get a better read on that guy… see if he is as honorable as you claim… or if he's just another mass manipulator like Hitler, pretending to care about the people when in truth he cares little for those below him."

Selvaria fought the urge to narrow her eyes, but kept her composure. Then she spotted Jaeger, along with the German General, which she now knew was Mark's father.

"Ah, there you are dear!" said Jaeger jovially, "I hope you haven't been giving your young friend here too much trouble,"

Selvaria pretended to smile, but in truth, which Mark and Wagner both saw in her eyes, that she was glaring at Jaeger.

"Of course not," she said, "The First Lieutenant was merely telling me about his homeland and it's unique history."

"Ah, so has the General here!" Jaeger said grinning, "Telling me all about their old military, and his own exploits! If there's any truth behind e'm, the Imperials won't know what hit e'm when he takes this war seriously!"

"I have always taken war seriously, your Grace," said Wagner, with a smirk, "Better be prepared than not prepared at all,"

Jaeger nodded at that, "Of course, of course," he said, "Well my dear, I thinks it time we retire for the night. We'll be having an early day tomorrow,"

Selvaria nodded as she took his arm that he offered. She then turned to Mark.

"Have a good night Lieutenant," she said, and Mark nodded and bowed.

"And you as well," he said, and the two disguised Imperials left the father and son alone.

"Well?" asked Wagner, getting his son's attention. "What do you think?"

"Well, she's a little bad at acting the part," he said, "But I can tell she's got spirit."

Mark chuckled at that, "That's not what I meant son," he said, making his eldest turn to him.

"Vatter?" he said confusedly.

"I saw how you were looking at her," the General said, making Mark's eyes widen. "According to Jaeger, she's loyal to Maximilian… if you want her, you're gonna have to give one hell of an effort."

Before Mark could form a reply, an announcement from Borg came telling them that Cordelia would be leaving now, as the Princess of Gallia stood from her throne and proceeded to leave the throne room.

Wagner's eyes narrowed slightly as she walked away with Borg following her. "Mark… do me a favor, and have some of the guards move to the princess's quarters." he said.

Mark nodded, knowing the looming situation was at hand, and left to get the guards.

Wagner then turned back to the leaving Princess and Borg, and his eyes narrowed on the latter, seeing the small smirk on his face.

He wasn't the only one though, as Quinn was thinking the same thing.

"Martinov...," he said, and the Dretan nodded as he left the room.

"Sir?," said Lieutenant replied, as Quinn frowned at the Prime Minister as he and the Princess finally left the throne room.

"I have a feeling this party is going to get more...restless,"

* * *

 _ **With Jaden**_

* * *

"General Von Wolfe spoke with the Radi Jaeger?" Faldio asked Jaden in shock, with Isara and Alicia next to them.

Jaden nodded "Yeah, seemed the two actually hit it off pretty well." He said, "We may soon have a potential ally within the Imperial military soon enough… "

"You Germans never cease to impress..." Faldio said, shaking his head as Jaden shrugged.

"The General is simply very good at judging character." He said, "We'll just keep our eyes on the Imps in case they try anything… but I doubt they're here to cause trouble, just gather intel."

Alicia sighed "That's a relief..." she muttered. "The last place we'd want to start a fight would be here..."

"Agreed," said Faldio, "You said he also planned to take in any Imperial Deserters?"

Jaden nodded at that, "Yup, as long as they have good character and skills." He said, "Any deserters who possibly committed war crimes will probably be thrown in the stockade, and I bet be used to help release some POWs the Imps have,"

"At least the General is smart to not let those kinds of people in," Faldio said.

Jaden nodded with a smile, "My old man would probably execute them himself," he said.

"Your old man?" Isara asked, "You never told us much about your Father..."

"He's an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy," Jaden said shrugging, "He has a low opinion on people like those… he takes honor very seriously. Don't harm civilians, don't harm a soldier incapable of fighting back… that kind of stuff."

"Wow, your father must be a good person to have to live by such a code," Isara said, and Jaden chuckled.

"My old man may be honorable, but watch out when you get him angry," Jaden said, as he unwittingly shivered, "Trust me, _don't_. His glare could freeze the very fires of hell itself,"

Isara giggled a bit "I bet," she said. At that moment though, Jaden remembered something as he reached into his pocket.

"Oh, by the way Isara, I got something for ya." He said, causing the Darcsen to blink before he pulled out what looked like a small wooden version of the plane he use to pilot. "I… originally made this for my sister, but considering I'm probably not gonna see her in a while… I thought I'd give it to you. Since well, I know you love planes now."

Isara blinked before she smiled as she accepted the gift "Thanks Jaden!" She said, as she observed the model. "You made this from scratch?"

Jaden shrugged "When I'm not training or working on whatever needs fixing or one of my other projects, I get bored." He said, "Woodcarving is a good way to pass the time."

"Well, I love it!" Isara said, before she looked at her watch. "Oh, I promised to find Welks after the whole ceremony. See ya later, Jaden!" With that said, Isara went off to find her brother.

Alicia grinned as she whispered into Jaden's ear "She likes you..." she said, causing Jaden to blink, before he blushed.

"W-What the hell are you talking about?!" He shouted, "W-We're just friends! That's it!"

Alicia only smirked, "And why are you blushing?" she asked, and giggled as Jaden's face got redder.

Faldio, seeing what was going on, decided to play along as well, "You know, Alicia has a point Jaden," he said, "Isara does like you... _a lot_ , plus she loved that gift of yours."

"Oh come on! Not you too, Faldio!" he shouted, clearly outnumbered. "Its not like that for crying out loud!"

"Suuure..." Alicia said, rolling her eyes before giggling slightly.

* * *

 _ **With Cordelia and Borg**_

* * *

"A court lady will be here shortly to assist in your return." Maurtis said, as he opened the door, allowing Cordelia inside her room. "I must return to the banquet."

"Understood." Cordelia said, as Borg closed the door behind her, as the princess sighed as she took off her overly elaborate dress.

 _'I hate wearing these things..._ ' she thought to herself as she removed her hairpiece, revealing her silvery hair. _'It looks so ridiculous really… but I suppose it's worth it for now.'_

Cordelia sat down in the chair before the mirror as she let out a tired yawn. _'I did it… I can't believe I did, but I did it..._ ' she thought, as she smiled a bit. _'Oh the look on Borg's face was priceless too… the General is right… I should made decisions without the Nobles more._ '

She smiled a bit at her small victory, knowing that if her parents were watching, they would've been proud. She then heard the door open and was about to turn to the Court Lady, only for a rough hand to grab her shoulder and a white cloth to be pressed against her face.

 _'W-Wha...!?_ ' she thought as she struggled against the strong grasp, and noticed the smell coming from the cloth, _'Chloroform...!_ '

She tried to fight harder, but the effects of the knock out drug took their effect as her eyes drooped before finally slipping unconscious.

* * *

 _ **With Isara**_

* * *

"Okay… was it… this way?" Isara asked herself, as she reached the end of a hallway, separated by two doors. "Why does this castle have to be so big..." She took her chances on the door on the right, as she opened the door revealing a stairway. However she heard the sound of footsteps as she glanced to one side, and her eyes widened as she saw two men carrying a woman between them, both of whom froze as they saw Isara.

 _'Wait… that's the Princess-_ ' She began to think, before she felt as if someone hit her on the back of the head, and everything went dark for her.

"Nothing else can be done," Von Borg said as he appeared with the man who knocked Isara out. "Take them away." The three men nodded as they carried the two girls off, none of them noticing Isara dropping the wooden plane on the ground.

However, no one noticed another set of eyes watching them from another hallway. The owner let out a low growl as it proceeded to follow them.

* * *

 _ **Back with the Party**_

* * *

Quinn was searching for the German Commanders, hoping to catch them before they leave, he didn't have to look far. He found Admiral Hoffman speaking to a Gallian General, whom from the look of the Admiral's eyes was any indicator, wanted to punch said General in the face.

"Thank you for the offer, General Damon, but we are fine with operating within the Militia." Hoffman said, "It would grant us far more flexibility and less obstructions than to join the regular army for now."

The General in question, Georg Von Damon, was trying to convince the Admiral to give the aircraft and the other weapons to the Regular Army. Unfortunately for the aristocrat, it was proving to be very difficult.

"But Admiral, surely those weapons your people brought along will serve the Regulars better than the Peasant militia. They're just country mice," the arrogant general said, with traces of contempt toward the militia. Hoffman's eyes narrowed a bit, but before he could speak.

"I hope you're not talking about MY militia, _dear brother_ ," said a too-sweet of a voice, as Hoffman saw the General turn as white as a sheet and turned and saw his sister there behind him, giving him the evil eye, and had her hand on the hilt of her saber.

"A-Aalina!" Georg sputtered. "I-I thought you-"

"Did you really think I'd be absent for such a critical moment of Gallia?" Aalina said, as she gave Georg a menacing smirk. "I think the Admiral has made his intentions quite clear."

"B-But such weapons..." he began to say before the sound of the saber drawn was heard as Aalina pulled it out by just an inch.

"I'm sorry _dear brother_ , what was that?" she said, "Or would I have to inform mother of how badly you're behaving,"

Hoffman and Quinn could've sworn the man turned extra shades of white after hearing that.

If there was one thing that Georg feared more than his sister, it was his mother, Marhildi, who despite being in her 70's, was not a person you'd want to piss off...ever. The General didn't need anymore 'persuasion' before he swiftly left them… as swiftly as a fat pig of a man could be that is.

"Sorry about that Admiral," Aalina said with a sigh. "He's… persistent, I'll give him that,"

The Admiral shook his head, "It was no problem Colonel," he said, with a reassuring smile, "There's one in every family I suppose,"

Aalina chuckled at that, before she saw Quinn walking towards them.

"Ah! Derek, it's good to see you here," she said, and the Amerian Ambassador smiled as he nodded.

"Indeed, it has been a long time Aalina," he said, "Twenty years in fact,"

Aalina smiled as she turned back to the Admiral.

"Admiral Hoffman, I'd like to present Derek Quinn, the Ambassador to the UAR, and a former member of the Amerian Volunteer Legion from the last war," she said.

"Ah," Hoffman said nodding, "So he is from the Amerian Republic I keep hearing so much about? Its an honor."

The two then shook hands in greeting.

"Likewise," said Derek, "When rumors came about in Ameria about Gallia acquiring aircraft. I wasn't expecting this,"

Hoffman chuckled, "Our planes were definitely a shock to everyone here," he said. "We hope this will send a message to the Empire that we have a few advantages that they are… rather lacking of."

Derek chuckled at that, "My thoughts exactly," he said, "Ameria had been researching the concept, after the first aeroplane flew back in 1905. We've had successes so far, but with your introduction into this...hellish situation, you gave the Gallians a distinct advantage."

"The Bf 109's, Ju-87's, and Fi 167's are the pinnacle of aviation from our country," Hoffman said, "Though our aircraft are hardly the tip of the iceberg… our armored units such as our Panzers, Panthers and Tigers easily outclass anything the Gallians or Federation have to date, and give any Imperial tank a run for their money."

Derek was interested by that statement, and remembering the words of about an invitation to see them, he will be a fool not to. Which he isn't.

"Then I must make sure I get plenty of rest," he said, causing the group to chuckle.

"Oh, Colonel Damon?" Hoffman said, "Everything is ready for the tour?"

Aalina nodded at that, "Yes, it just needs a little cleanup after a while of no one using it. It should be ready tomorrow afternoon," she said, and Joseph nodded.

"Good," he said, smiling a bit. "It should make for a very… interesting tour... " he then glanced back at the Ambassador. "However, I doubt you wish to speak with me for some simple chit-chat."

The Ambassador nodded at that.

"When the war started, the Senatorial Council voted unanimously to raise a volunteer group to fight here in Europa, over 15,000 strong," he said, gaining an interested look from Hoffman, "Many are veterans from the first Amerian Volunteer Legion that fought in the last war, but others are either new recruits or green civilians."

He then sighed a bit, "The problem, while some have their own personal weapons, the others only have the Legion uniform and the basic field kit. The UAR Army expects the nation hosting the AVL to supply them with the weaponry needed," he said.

"And considering Gallia's current situation, they may not have many weapons to spare... " Hoffman said nodding. "I believe I see where this is going… "

Quinn nodded again sadly, "Yes. The convoy delivering the Legion will arrive here in three days." he said and looked at Hoffman, "I don't know if you can spare any weapons, possibly captured Imperial weapons. But I would appreciate it if you and General Wolfe can help turn this generation of the AVL into something...well, more than just a bunch of eager amateurs,"

Hoffman closed his eyes at that. "While we do have weapons in reserve… we don't nearly have enough to supply 15,000 troops all at once." He admitted, "And despite having captured a lot of Imperial equipment in our last few battles, we still don't have that much… it will take us some time to build more weapons, once we get the decommissioned factories the Princess gave us converted and working… though training," he smirked a bit. "That is a different story… I believe some of the former Freikorps Wagner has under his command can get them into shape. "

Quinn could only blink, but soon got the meaning.

"I imagine that these 'Freikorps' are real hardcore?" he asked, and Hoffman only grinned.

"Oh yes, they are," he said, "After all they went through two wars already,"

Quinn's eyes only widened at that.

 _'Geez, just what the hell did these people go through?,_ ' he thought to himself, before shaking his head to get back in the game. "I believe that will do,"

Hoffman nodded, "Good, of course some of the legion might volunteer to become pilots in the new Gallian Air Force. And if they do, you'll also have experienced pilots," he said. "And… possibly more, if you wish."

Quinn rose an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"While our civilians have offered to help build the settlement around the castle the Princess has granted us and the conversion of the nearby factories… we are still understaffed in that department." Hoffman said, "If we want to get these facilities functioning, and homes for our families, we will need help. While the Gallians have offered what support they can… any help can be appreciated."

"Help in building homes and farms, help in the factories converting them, and eventually working in them to build more aircraft, vehicles, weapons, uniforms, and ammunition." He continued, "In addition to training your volunteers… if any of them aid in helping our people get set up, it would be of great assistance. Plus, any of your men working in the first aircraft manufacturing facility we convert will receive hands-on experience in manufacturing and maintenance on aircraft… and perhaps we can sneak a few… 'examples' back to your homeland once more are made?"

Quinn's eyes widened at the chance being given to him and the UAR. However he wasn't expecting the German commanders to just give them some examples on a silver platter, it was still good. Aalina was also shocked at the offer that the Admiral just landed on the Ambassador's lap.

"That...that will do, Admiral," he said, the shocked look still on his face, "We will greatly appreciate this,"

Hoffman nodded his head, "You're helping your nation to become stronger, Ambassador. Just as me and my other compatriots are doing the same here in Gallia." he said. "Ameria… reminds us of another nation we once knew before the fall… a great nation that upheld freedom and justice for all. I hope that Ameria will become just like that nation someday… maybe even better."

Quinn blinked at that, but decided not to ask.

"I must get going now, and return to the Embassy," said the Ambassador, "I hope to see you and the General tomorrow morning, Admiral,"

Hoffman nodded, "Of course, have a good night, Mr. Ambassador," he said, and the Amerian left.

Aalina then turned to the Admiral as soon as the Ambassador left.

"What was this nation you spoke so highly about?" she asked, and Hoffman sighed.

"It was a nation whose people defended us when the victors of the last war blamed Germany for starting the war, even when we didn't," he said, "I will tell you one day. But right now, thinking about it just...brings back old memories,"

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile**_

* * *

Jaden and Faldio stood over one of the balconies of the castle, watching as the guests slowly began to leave. "Thank Kami that's over..." Jaden muttered with a sigh. "I hate things like this..."

Faldio chuckled a bit "Ah, you'll get use to it." He said, before he looked up and noticed Welkin walking towards them. "Ah! Welkin, there ya are!"

"Sorry, I found a Horned Owl just outside the castle," Welkin said, scratching the back of his head. "Alicia had to track me down and pull me away from it..."

"Someone needs to keep you on track nature boy," Alicia said teasingly, however Jaden blinked.

"Wait… where's Isara then?" He asked, causing them to blink. "She left to find you, didn't she?"

"I thought she was with you?" Welkin asked in confusion.

"Well if you didn't see her, and she's not with us..." Jaden said, "Where else could she-" however he froze, as he then suddenly remembered that two of their guests were from the Imperial Alliance… the Darcsen Hunting Imperial Alliance.

Throwing all other thoughts aside, Jaden growled as he ran past the group, catching the others by surprise. "J-Jaden!" Welkin shouted, "Where are you going?"

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - With Selvaria & Radi**_

* * *

"General Jaeger." Radi glanced up as he took a whiff from his cigarette as Karl Oswald ran up towards them. "A person resembling Princess Cordelia was taken away in the direction of Schladen Roadway just now."

Radi sighed "As expected," he said, "Still hard to believe the Federation would try to pull this off… "

"However, there was something that bothered me sir," Karl continued, causing Radi to raise an eyebrow. "There was someone else with the Princess that was kidnapped - a Darcsen woman."

"A Darcsen?" Radi asked, "It couldn't of been the lady-in-waiting then… this doesn't make much sense..."

Selvaria paid little attention, however from the corner of her eye she noticed something lying on the ground. She walked up to it, and picked up what looked like a small wooden model of the same aircraft that she shot down at Barious. _'Why is this…?_ ' She thought.

"Whatcha got there?" Radi asked, as he saw what Selvaria had picked up.

"Some kind of hand carved model..." She mused, observing it. "It was just on the floor here… it almost looks like the flying machine that hit the Batomy's."

"Hmm… probably belongs to-" Radi began to say, before what sounded like a war cry drew the three out of their musings as they looked to the source, and a mad-as-hell Jaden Takeo was charging at them with a downright murderous glare, and a knife in his hand. Before any of them could react, he tackled Selvaria, shoving her into the wall, and putting the knife against her throat.

"WHERE IS SHE YOU BITCH?!" Jaden roared out.

 _'Whoa Damn_!' thought Radi, _'Where the hell did he come from!?_ '

"Countess!" said Karl in worry, and attempted to go for his hidden pistol, but Radi stopped him.

"Don't!" ordered Radi as he turned back to Jaden who still held Selvaria against the wall.

"This is the last time: WHERE. IS. SHE!?" he shouted again.

Before Radi could move to calm him down.

"Jaden!" he turned and saw the two Militia Lieutenants, along with the girl he saw back in Kloden, and the same man he saw talking with Selvaria earlier - Mark, who was accompanied by a small escort of German troops.

"Jaden, you need to calm down!" Alicia tried to reason, but Jaden wasn't exactly listening as he glared at the silver-haired woman.

"Isara goes missing while a pair of Imperial Commanders are here?" He growled out, "I know how you Imps treat Darcsens, I find you you so much as SCRATCHED her, you won't have to worry where your fucking god is, 'cause he's standing RIGHT here, and he's fresh out of fucking mercy!"

"Jaden don't!" Mark said, trying to reason, "If you'll kill her not only would it look bad on Gallia, but us as well!"

"She's an Imp!" Jaden growled, "I've read up what they do to Darcsens! How you sick fucks hunt them down like fucking wild animals for something they have no control over! I'm NOT letting that shit happen here!" He glared back at Selvaria. "One more time. WHERE?"

Mark then walked forward and placed his hand on the pilot's shoulder.

"I know you're desperate to find her." He said, "But your samurai pride and itchy wrist is not helping in the slightest!"

Selvaria meanwhile wasn't quite able to do much. While she could activate her Valkyrian powers… this was the last place she would want to. Plus the fact she was missing her newly acquired Valkyrian lance and shield, or any actual weapons made things difficult. And even if she did activate her powers, it was likely Jaden would cut her throat open at the slightest twitch. Her life was hanging on the hope that Mark might be able to calm the enraged pilot down.

At that moment though, Radi stepped in."I would listen kid," he said, as he approached. "We didn't take any Darcsens - we're not part of the Hunters."

"Oh yeah, and I'm just supposed to believe that?" Jaden retorted with a roll of his eyes. "If anything, killing her will make life easier for us! She's the same bitch with those fancy laser beams that shot my plane down! We take her out now, we eliminate a threat to Gallia and our own people!"

Selvaria's eyes widened, as she suddenly realized that the man currently holding a knife at her throat, was the same man who flew the plane that destroyed the Batomy's.

"Maybe," Mark said, "But not like this, Jaden… if we're gonna find Isara, we may need their help. Please… don't do this."

Jaden glanced at Mark, before glancing back at Selvaria. Letting out a low growl, he finally removed the knife from her neck. "Talk. NOW." He muttered, "Before I change my mind again."

Selvaria rubbed her neck where the knife had been, while Radi breathed a sigh of relief.

"It wasn't us that took your friend," he said, "It was the Federation,"

Mark mentally cursed at that, _'Dammit, they moved fast!_ '

"You're absolutely right there, General Jaeger," said a voice causing everyone to blink and turn and spotted the two Amerian Lieutenants that acted as guards for Quinn. "Of course, they're not working alone, as a few Gallians are with them."

Everyone was wide eyed, while Alicia gasped.

"What? Why would some of our people do that?" she asked.

"Maurtis von Borg has worked out some kind of deal with the Feds," the woman said, surprising the Gallians, "He's letting a group of Federation Commando's kidnap Princess Cordelia… your Darcsen friend witnessed the kidnapping, but she too was captured."

"And just who are you two?" Mark asked, looking at their uniforms, which was a brown tunic, with green trousers, and a pair of dark brown leather boots which like the old standard jackboots, but the differences that they appeared to open at the front with three straps on the side, and laces at the base for a more secure fit . "And how do you know it's Borg that did it?,"

"Lieutenant Ivan Martinov, and Lieutenant Cassandra Somne," The man said, "We were here to help protect Ambassador Quinn, but he ordered us to keep an eye on the Princess as well under the suspicion of Borg trying something after what the Germans pulled... which he has."

The Gallians along with Jaden and Mark were all thinking of ways to kill the Prime Minister.

"Well," said Radi, "I knew your Prime Minister was shifty, but actually committing treason?"

"Our Intelligence groups knew he was making deals without the rest of Gallia knowing," Cassandra said, "He made deals with the Cardinal Borgia, the head priest of the Yggdist Cult, as well as numerous deals with the Empire,"

"He's trying to play all sides in this war..." Jaden muttered.

Welkin then stepped forward "I think we can cooperate a bit here," he said, causing the others to all look at him in shock.

"Welkin! They're our enemy!" Faldio shouted, "They are Imperials!"

"I know that," Welkin said, before Faldio blinked at the surprisingly serious attitude he suddenly had. "But that doesn't matter now... If it means rescuing not just the Princess, but Isara too, I'll do anything."

"What exactly do you mean, Lieutenant?" Radi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you cooperate, we'll be able to rescue both the Princess and Isara," Welkin explained, "And the Empire can stop Gallia from becoming part of the Federation. This could be a positive symbiosis where both of us will benefit - after all, if Gallia does become part of the Federation, that means Federation troops will enter our borders, meaning your forces - which are already in a stalemate with Gallian forces - will now also need to contend with more experienced Federation troops, making things all the more difficult for you."

Radi was impressed by the reasoning that Welkin laid out, along with Selvaria, although her face was still showing a neutral expression.

"Not a bad assumption kid," he said, "You're definitely his son after all,"

Welkin blinked at that but didn't say anything.

Meanwhile Mark turned to one of the guards, "Go and tell the General and Admiral that the Princess has been kidnapped," he ordered, and the soldier nodded and left to relay the news.

"So, how do we plan to get the Princess back?" he said, and Ivan stepped forward with a grin on his face.

"Don't worry about that," he said, "My _partner_ is already on their trail,"

The Europans, Germans, and one Japanese all blinked at that.

"Partner?"

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - Von Borg's Quarters**_

* * *

"It seems the Princess has developed a bit of a backbone while you were away," the Federation Ambassador said, as he and Von Borg sat across the table from one another. "And has made some… interesting allies."

Von Borg sighed in frustration, "So it seems," he said, "Of course this Germany they claim they're from doesn't appear on any known maps. However their technological advance is nothing to sniff at," he said, and Townsend nodded.

"Too true," he said, "Especially those aircraft. With this alliance your nation has an edge the Empire doesn't." He then smirked slightly "Though now with the Princess out of the way, Gallia can share these new… innovations with the rest of the Federation."

Von Borg smiled and nodded "Exactly." He said, "By the time Morning comes, the 'defection' of the Princess to the Federation will be known."

"In respect to the matter, the Federation has no relation." Townsend said nodding, "It was all done by the will of the Princess herself."

Von Borg chuckled a bit as both he and Townsend took a drink from their glasses "After this, Gallia will become the Federation's protectorate." He said, "When that time comes..."

"Of course," The Ambassador said nodding, "When the time comes, we will put you, who has wielded the power as the prime minister in charge of Gallia."

Von Borg along with Townsend chuckled as their plans were coming to fruition...however, Von Borg never noticed the lamp in his room, which was never there before, and wasn't even on. Nor did they didn't know that their whole conversation was listened in on.

In a separate room on the other side of the castle, a group of German soldiers had heard the whole thing, while recording the whole conversation.

"Looks like the General called it." One of the Germans said nodding, "I'm amazed he didn't notice the lamp one..."

"Even if he did, we've still got several others in there..." Another one said, "Record all you can, and inform the General." The soldier smirked slightly. "He's gonna have some fun with this..."

"Yes sir...," said another soldier with a smirk on his face as he left the room.

* * *

 _ **An hour later**_

* * *

Von Borg and Townsend, were outside the castle walls as they walked toward the Ambassador's car which will take him back to the Atlantic Federation.

"I'm curious though," said Townsend, "What do you plan to do with the Germans and their families?"

"That depends on how they react to all this," Borg said, "But either way, their technology will be added to Gallia's arsenal, and mass produced by us and the Atlantic Federation. Whether they like it or not. They are just guests after all, if they don't cooperate… they may soon find themselves wandering the seas once more, without their tanks or aircraft."

"Oh really?" said a voice making the two turn and spotted Von Wolfe and Hoffman come out of the trees, both of them with deep scowls. They were not alone as out of the trees, guns raised was a whole group of armed German soldiers and Gallian Militia.

"You must think we're a bunch of morons, don't you?" Von Wolfe said with venom. "Did you really think your plan wouldn't be discovered?"

"And what plan-" Borg began to say, before Von Wolfe snapped his fingers, and one of the german soldiers carrying a large device pressed a button on it.

" _Though now with the Princess out of the way, Gallia can share these new… innovations with the rest of the Federation_."

" _Exactly. By the time Morning comes, the 'defection' of the Princess to the Federation will be known_."

" _In respect to the matter, the Federation has no relation. It was all done by the will of the Princess herself_."

" _After this, Gallia will become the Federation's protectorate. When that time comes..."_

" _Of course, When the time comes, we will put you, who has wielded the power as the prime minister in charge of Gallia."_

Both of the men's eyes widened as the recording stopped. "I've dealt with far to many people like you, Borg." Wagner growled, "I know scum when I see it… and you're willing to sell out your own country for your own personal gain? People like you don't deserve power."

"That little recording of your… _negotiation_ is being handed over to the press at this very moment," Hoffman said smirking, "Oh I wonder how the people of Gallia will react at how their Prime Minister nearly sold out their beloved Princess and their own nation to the greedy hands of the Federation?"

"You do this, you will never find the princess-" Borg began to shout out, but Wagner rose his hand.

"We already know where they are heading, and we've sent someone to apprehend them now." He said, "You lost Borg… take e'm away boys."

Borg's eyes widened in fury.

"You...you damn foreigner!" he shouted as a Militiaman and one of the German soldiers grabbed him by the arms, along with Townsend who also struggled. "Damn you! Release me at once!"

However his response was a punch to the face from the Gallian, who was glaring at Borg with burning hatred.

"Shut up, traitor!" he shouted as the armed troop proceeded to drag them away.

Wagner then turned to the woods, "Did you get all that, Miss Ellet?" he asked, as said journalist poked her head out.

"Best. Story. EVER!" The Journalist shouted with a wide grin as she held her camera. "This may be the biggest day of news GBS will ever have! New Allies, Aircraft, and Von Borg exposed as a traitor! Thank you so much General Von Wolfe!"

Hoffman chuckled as he shook his head, as Irene reminded him so much of his daughter, who is also a reporter.

"You are very welcome, Miss Ellet," said Wagner, "And since our people will be working with the Militia, as well as your other story, Squad 7, I'm sure the story you'll be reporting will be worth the while,"

Ellet smirked "Glad I can help, sir." She said.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile - On the Road**_

* * *

Isara groaned a bit, as her eyes cracked open _'What happened…?_ ' she thought, as she tried to move her arms, however she soon discovered they were tied behind her back. "What the..." she whispered, before she realized she was under some kind of tarp, and from the clattering she was in a truck… and she wasn't alone as she glanced to the side, and noticed the still unconscious Princess Cordelia, causing her eyes to widen. _'P-Princess Cordelia?!'_

"So what are we gonna do about the other one?" Isara heard a male voice, causing her to freeze. "She's just a Darcsen, no one will notice if we finish her off."

"Nah, It could be bad if anyone discovered the corpse - Darcsen or not." A second male voice said.

"So we're taking them both all the way to Adowen?" The first asked, "That's gonna cost us double."

 _'Adowen?_ ' Isara thought, _'That town is within Federation borders… why…?_ '

"We'll take them back to the Federation one way or another," the second man said, before he chuckled a bit. "I don't know about the whole 'descendant of the Valkyrur' thing, but if she's asleep she's as human as we are."

The first man let out a short laugh. "Got that right." He said.

Not liking where this was heading, Isara managed to get the Tarp from off of them, before she began to nudge the princess. "Princess," she whispered, trying to wake her up without alerting the drivers. "Princess!"

The Princess groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open. "W-Wha?" she said.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," Isara said.

"What happened?" Cordelia asked quietly, as she looked around. "And where are we?"

"We've been kidnapped," Isara said quietly, getting a surprised look from the Princess, "And from I just heard, it seems the Federation's behind all this… we gotta find a way to get out of here."

"How?" Cordelia asked, "And… who are you?"

"Isara Gunther, Gallian Militia 3rd Regiment," Isara said, "Welks - err, I mean Lieutenant Gunther is my older brother… I'm almost certain my team will try and find us, we'll be fine… I hope."

"I hope so too then..." Cordelia said, causing Isara to blink. "If this happened a few days ago… I probably wouldn't even care about this… but now..." she shook her head. "After what General Von Wolfe said, I do not think Prime Minister Borg has our people's best intentions in mind… in fact, now that I think of it, he's probably behind this… I can't let him take away everything my family fought to protect in the last war."

Isara nodded, before she looked behind them and saw what looked like headlights following them. _'Is that…?_ ' she thought, before her eyes widened as she saw several Motorbikes with sidecars following them, and driving the lead one without a sidecar, was none other than Jaden Takeo himself.

In the driver's cab, one of the agents heard the sounds of the motorbikes and looked in one of the mirrors, causing his eyes to widen.

"Uh, we got a problem...," he said, and the driver blinked before looking in his mirror and his eyes widened as well.

"What the hell!?" he shouted, "How did they catch up to us so fast!"

"Can you lose them!?" his partner said, as Jaden began to pull up next to the car. The partner cursed as he pulled out his sidearm to shoot him, however he blinked in confusion as Jaden was smirking, before he seemed to point ahead of them. He looked… and his eyes widened as he saw the Edelweiss sitting up ahead, along with a small team of German soldiers all with their rifles raised.

"OH SHIT!"

The driver immediately slammed on the brakes along with Jaden and the other pursuing motorcycle unit making them come to a screeching halt.

"Isara! Are you okay!?" Jaden shouted in concern.

"We're alright Jaden!" said Isara who had a big smile on her face, "It's good to see you, though,"

"Don't move!" The others looked, as the driver had reached out for the back, and pulled the Princess into his grasp as he held her now at gunpoint. "No one moves, or she gets its!"

 _'Shit_!' Jaden mentally cursed, while the other rescuers lowered their gun, but ready to aim again, _'I should've known they would do this!_ '

"Now listen and listen good!" he shouted as he held his hostage close, unaware of the large four legged figure coming out of the shadows and stalking toward them. "You're gonna let us pass, and not come after us! If you do she dies!"

"You won't shoot her." Jaden said, his eyes narrowed. "If you do, you forfeit your own life. Life of imprisonment, execution… your friends in the AF won't be able to save you now."

"I will do it! I swear!" he shouted, and the figure inched closer, "I will kill her if you don't let us pass!"

"Are you crazy? We need her alive!" the partner said.

"Do you wanna get of here or don't you!?" the other kidnapper said, "I'm not gonna spend a single second in a Gallian Prison!"

Jaden was about to draw his pistol and just kill the hostage taker, until he blinked as he saw something very large sneaking toward the truck. He smirked.

"Hey Dude… I got a question for ya..." He said, causing the man to blink. "Ya like Dogs?"

"Wha?" the Federation agent said before he heard growling behind him and slowly turned around and paled as soon as he saw what it was. A split second later, a maw of teeth snapped shut on the arm of the kidnapper, making him drop the gun, release the princess, and begin screaming bloody murder.

"AAAAGGGGGHHHH!"

From the Edelweiss, Welkin's eyes widened as he saw the animal that was now chewing the agent a new one.

"T-That's...that's a..."

"So _that's_ a Dire Wolf..." Jaden said chuckling as the wolf dragged the man away as German troops secured the Princess. "Bigger than I imagined… and oh boy does he look pissed."

The Dire Wolf Jaden was looking at was two times bigger than a normal wolf, had a coat of black and dark brown fur, and yellowish brown eyes, that were filled with fury as it proceeded to pin the would-be hostage taker to the ground.

The other kidnapper was still in the truck too afraid to come out.

"Alright Khanter, I think he's got the point now," said Ivan as he and Cassandra arrived in their own vehicle. The Dire Wolf reluctantly released him, and after giving an angry sniff, began to trot over to where Cordelia and Isara were, the German troops wisely moving out of it's way.

"That wolf is by far one of the most badass things I've ever seen," Jaden said nodding at the Wolf. "I pity whoever pisses one off…" He then glanced at the Feds, "Except you two jackasses." He added as he drew out his Shin guntō. "You two… are in a looooot of trouble… you didn't just kidnap the Princess of Gallia… you also kidnapped a good friend of mine..."

The two's eyes widen in alarm as they saw the sword and looked for a way to get away, but unfortunately, a few soldiers grabbed them and kept them where they are. Jaden raised the tip of his sword under the one who held the Princess hostage, who gulped in fear.

"And if there is another thing I hate, is hostage takers," he said in low tone, "Especially ones who put a gun to a woman's head."

"Jaden, wait-" Isara began to shout out, however Jaden thrusted his sword… and just barley grazed the soldier's neck, leaving a thin scratch as he just barely missed.

"I should kill you… but I don't kill someone who can't fight back." He said, before he sniffed the air, before covering his nose. "Oh god, did you just shit yourself?"

The German troops standing there blinked before they too noticed the foul smell, and they jumped away, feeling like they touched the Bubonic Plague.

"Oooh, Scheisse! A big one too!" said one German soldier who had his hand on his nose.

"What the hell did you _eat_? Roadkill?" said another, as some snickers were heard.

Meanwhile, Khanter, the Dire Wolf, was looking over the Princess and Isara with a concerned look in it's eyes, as he sniffed and nudged them a bit.

Cordelia, although a little hesitant, placed her hand on his head, and began to gently pat him.

The Dire Wolf appeared to like it as his tail wagged a bit.

"Khanter is a bit of a love bug," said Ivan as he approached, a small grin on his face "Are the two of you alright?"

"Yes… just… just getting over the shock." Cordelia said, as she began to smile as she scratched behind Khanter's ears, which the Dire Wolf must of liked as it started panting.

"Same here," Isara said nodding, glancing at Welkin "Thanks Welks… for this..."

Welkin smiled "Don't thank me, thank Jaden." he said, "It was his idea to set up the Roadblock with the Edelweiss."

Cordelia looked at the Japanese aviator who after putting his sword away was walking toward them.

"I thank you Lieutenant. For saving mine and Sergeant Gunther's life," she said, as Jaden scratched behind his head and smiling sheepishly.

"I'm just...doing what has to be done," he said, before blinking, "Oh, Isara! You dropped this,"

He dug into his pocket and pulled out the model Zero and handed it to Isara.

Isara blinked, but smiled as she took it. "Thanks Jaden," she said.

"Not a problem," Jaden said, before looking at Welkin. "You might want to contact our… 'friends', let them know we have the Princess."

Welkin nodded as he went back into the tank in order to relay the message, while Isara and Cordelia blinked in confusion.

"Who...?" Isara said, while Jaden sighed.

"It's a long story,"

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

"I see, that's good to hear," said Radi as he held the radio phone to his ear, "Remind to congratulate Lieutenant Takeo and yourself on a well accomplished mission next time under better circumstances. It is difficult for a country that has become a tributary to become Independent again. The flow of history is inevitable, but you don't want to leave a regret like I have."

" _I'm just glad we were able to work together, General Jaeger_." Welkin said, as Radi smiled a bit.

"I'll see you then, Lieutenant Gunther." He said, "Let me say this to you, while I am still your friend. You did well."

" _Thank you, General_." Welkin said. Radi was about to turn the Radio off, however surprisingly Selvaria tapped his shoulder, and took the Radio from him.

"Lieutenant Gunther _,"_ she said, "If you would please… hand the Radio over to Mark von Wolfe."

" _Umm, of course_ ," Welkin said, " _Hold a minute, please_ ,"

Radi looked at the female general, and saw her hand fidgeting a bit, and could only chuckle. Selvaria heard it and turned to Radi.

"What?" she said, with a glaring look.

"Nothing," was all he said, "Nothing at all,"

Selvaria didn't look convinced at all. But then she heard Mark's voice on the radio.

" _Yes? Von Wolfe speaking_ ,"

"Mr. Von Wolfe," Selvaria said with a small sigh "I… wish to thank you for… what you did, at the castle - keeping your friend from attacking me."

" _It was no trouble at all, General Bles_ ," said Mark, " _Though, I believe my friend will think otherwise. However, I assume you and General Jaeger will return back to your own forces,"_

Selvaria nodded at that, "Yes, our mission objective is already accomplished," she said. "We will be returning home now."

" _Well, if we do meet again, I hope it will be in more friendly circumstances_." Mark said.

" _Hey, is that that Silver haired chick?!"_ Selvaria could hear Jaden in the background " _You still owe me a plane_!"

She heard Mark sigh exasperatedly, " _I don't think the Empire has the know how, Jaden_ ," he said.

" _I DON'T CARE!"_ Jaden yelled, " _Tell her to tell that Emperor of there's to get his ass into gear and start cranking fighters now, dammit! Give me one, and I'll SHOOT DOWN THE REST!"_

It was quiet for a moment before she heard him again.

" _Well, for what's it worth. Thank you again, Lady General_ ," he said, and Selvaria didn't know the blush on her face.

"We are glad we could help, Mr. Von Wolfe," she said, "For now, I must bid you farewell."

" _Of course, until then_ ," he said, and Selvaria gave a sigh as he handed the radio back to Karl.

"I think it's best we should back now," she said, and Radi nodded and the three Imperials got back into their car and drove off.

* * *

 ** _Morning, Randgriz Castle_**

* * *

Cordelia was back in her formal dress, and sat on the throne of the castle, all the while giving a glare to the currently restrained, former, Prime Minister along with Townsend who was in the same predicament. Both of them flanked by a pair of soldiers.

"I trusted you, you know..." Cordelia said, glancing at Borg. "Ever since I was a child, I let you do all the big decisions… because I always thought you would do what was best for this country, what my parents would of wanted… and now here we are - with you about to _sell us out to_ the Atlantic Federation!"

Borg didn't appeared intimidated , which clearly showed Cordelia that he didn't regret his decision whatsoever. She sighed in disappointment.

"Unfortunately, since we need every bullet to fight the Imperials, I won't have you executed," she said, while Borg smirked a bit, but that was immediately wiped off his face, by Cordelia's next words, "Instead, since you love the Federation so much, you will be sent there with them, as you are hereby banished from Gallia, your family's name forever tarnished as it will become forever synonymous with treason, and your family's assets seized, and presented as a gift to the people,"

"W-What?!" Borg shouted, "Y-You can't-"

"I can, and I will." Cordelia cut him off. "I am the heir of House Randgriz, therefore it is my decision that is final - not yours. My parents died to keep this nation free from the Imperials - I will not let you tarnish everything they fought to defend to get in the good graces of the Federation! "

Borg was fuming as he glared at the Princess.

"Y-You...You little brat!" He shouted, "One day I'll come back and I will show you and all of Gallia what you threw away!"

He then turned his glare to Wagner and Joseph as their expressions were neutral.

"As for you two!" he snarled, "If you hadn't shown up, none of this would've happened! I would've become Gallia's King!"

Hoffman scoffed "Please, you would never become king either way." He said, "You're just an old, greedy fart who cares more about yourself than the people you're suppose to be looking after. This nation will be much better off independent from the likes of the Federation - and out of the hands of selfish old men like you, Borg."

Borg could only grit his teeth in anger, but before he could utter a word, he was gagged by one of the Royal Guardsmen, as he and his partner dragged the disgraced Noble out of the throne room. Cordelia then turned to the Ambassador.

"As for you Mr. Townsend," she said with a clipped tone, "Because of your collaboration with Borg, I hereby decree that the Federation will not be signing any treaty you will give us, and any other treaty that the Federation and Borg have signed before will be therefore rendered invalid and expired. Instead, all the former trade you received from us will be given to the United Amerian Republics, the National Republic of Falken, and the Dryer Kingdom,"

Townsend paled when he heard that. "Y-You..." he muttered.

"Take him away," Hoffman said, as two German soldiers dragged the Federation Ambassador away.

Cordelia sighed as she leaned back in her throne "That… felt surprisingly good." She admitted, causing both the German General and Admiral to chuckle a bit.

"Its always good to take out an enemy or two." Hoffman said, "So, what will you do now, your highness?"

"As you informed me, we may now have an alliance with not only Dryer and Falken, but Ameria as well." She said, "We will have to get the necessary treaties ready to establish them - and we will have to prepare for the arrival of the Amerian Volunteers as well… are you certain you are up to the task of training 15,000 men and women?"

"Of course, your highness." Wagner said nodding. "By the time they're out of boot camp, they'll be as well trained as the Sturmtruppen from our homeland."

Cordelia nodded at that, "I will hold you to that General." she said, and turned to Ambassador Quinn, "And you Ambassador Quinn, what will your plans be, now that we have an alliance?"

Quinn stepped forward, "I believe I will continue to act as Ambassador to Gallia, and when the Volunteers arrive I will act as your more...trusty advisor," he said, getting a chuckle from everyone. "But if I may ask your highness, who will replace Borg as Prime Minister now that he has been stripped of his position?"

Cordelia thought about that, before a thought entered her head, and she smiled softly.

"I believe that Rasmus von Vinter of House Vinter would do," she said, "He was the opposition to Borg, and was a former general in the last war. I believe you know him, Ambassador,"

Derek nodded, returning the smile, "Of course, an excellent choice. He's proud of his Noble heritage but is not a dunderhead like Borg, and is more of a man of the people than anything," he said. "He was also the one who trained the last AVL in the war 20 years ago,"

"That is one of the main reasons why I chose him," Cordelia said, "As it stands, he and his house are among the few I may be able to trust after this… once news gets out about what von Borg attempted, there is no telling how the other houses will react."

"Well one thing's for sure," said Wagner, "Many of them will think twice before attempting anything stupid like this. Though, I still am a little wary around House Gassenarl,"

Cordelia nodded at that, "Yes, the Gassenarl family are considered to be the most...anti-social when it comes to the common people, with more hostility toward Darcsens."

"Yes, so we've learned," said Hoffman. "We will deal with it if it becomes an issue, though I would hope that we can focus on the real threat - that being the Imperials for now. Once our people get settled in and we have recommissioned your old factories, we can start bringing forth more advanced war machines into the Gallian front."

"Agreed." Wagner said nodding, "We should focus on the production of bombers and fighter-bombers once the first factory opens up. Due to the near non existent fighter threat, aircraft such as our Ju 87 Stuka Dive-Bombers and other long-range bombers can maintain air supremacy for the foreseeable future until the Imperials begin making their own aircraft… it will likely take them months to get a successful mass production aircraft out to match our own… depending how far the are in their own development."

Cordelia nodded, "Agreed," she said, and then sighed, "There will be two people among the Gassenarls that will happy,"

The Germans blinked at that.

"Who?" Wagner asked.

Aalina stepped forward and spoke for the Princess, "Gilbert's children, his son Baldren, and his daughter, Audrey," she said, "They both share the idea of restructuring Gallia's military and industry power, and are more competent and well tactful commanders than my idiot of a brother."

"Hmmm… at the very least, they should be able to see that this is for the best of Gallia." Hoffman said, "Hopefully their own… grudges against the Darcsens won't get in the way of them seeing this."

Wagner nodded at that, "Doesn't mean I trust them though, I think we should attach some units to their forces," he said, "And I think the Cavalry Regiment will suffice,"

"Yes, they should." Hoffman said before he sighed, "Well your highness, as fun as this was, I must return back to our forces - construction on our new settlement near the former Gassenarl Castle will be beginning soon."

Cordelia nodded at that, "Of course," she said.

"And I still need to give you that tour," said Aalina, as the Germans nodded.

"Well then, let's be on our way," Wagner said and they left the throne room.

"Also your highness, there is a little something I need to tell you," Derek said, as soon as Aalina and the Germans left, causing the princess to look at him.

"It concerns a certain missing heir,"

* * *

 _ **Patriot-112: And done! Another good long chapter!**_

 _ **117Jorn: Another one bites the dust! And in the next chapter, we'll be introducing a certain group of Penal soldiers we all know and love… you know who I'm talking about if you know VC.**_

 _ **Patriot-112: Yup, but that's for you peeps to find out next chapter! So until then...**_

 _ **Both: Auf Wiedersehen!**_


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